DIVORCE
by Basmathgirl
Summary: Cliché of the week involves an AU where the Doctor is an aging rocker and wants to be with Rose, but since this one is being written by me, it ain't going to stay that way for long. Ten/Donna fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning:** NOT for Doctor/Rose fans because I am going to break them up  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own the very nice daydreams this gave me but nothing beyond that.  
><strong>AN:** there was a character sitting in an office in some American drama, and I immediately thought "I can imagine Donna sitting there." The rest of this just fell into my head.  
><strong>AN2:** I am using posting this today in order to wish **heintz571** a very Happy Birthday!

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><p><strong>Part One<strong>

.

It was with a worn sigh that Donna sat herself down in front of the large mahogany desk in the grand office. It was a place away from their home they has chosen as a safe mediatory place long ago in their relationship. A grandmother clock ticked on loudly in the background, marking the time being wasted by this legal charade. She had been formerly summoned there, by her estranged husband. Loving him would the death of her one day. No doubt he wanted more money or something similar. It was his usual style.

As she waited she cast her gaze about the office, running her manicured fingers along the edge of the reproduction antique before her. It was an environment that was very much style over content. The wall contained several plagues from the good old days of touring with The Time Lords; they were all a bunch of old rockers now. Next to these were posters for his latest tours as an author. Most of his time away these days was spent researching something or other. He just liked travelling for travelling's sake.

On top of the desk lay some legal papers, face down, ready and waiting for the Doctor to read when he eventually sat himself down on the green leather desk chair. Tilting towards the pile, Donna focused her attention and used her advanced senses to read through the paper. Being married to him had given her all sorts of handy skills.

What she saw gave her cause to snort in disappointment. He wanted a divorce, did he?! Well, there was no way she would make it easy for him. For a start, she had gained things since marrying him that had made her general life a great deal more comfortable, and she'd be blowed if she would make it completely easy for him to take all that away. He'd think he was getting away with it, but she planned to surprise him.

At that instance the office door opened and the man in question stood there, John 'Doctor' Noble; dressed in his usual pinstriped suit. No surprise there at all, she noted to herself. "Good morning, Doctor," she formally welcomed him. There was a time she would have called him 'Time boy' at the very least. Those days were gone.

"Good morning, Donna," he stiffly replied, stepping forward to plant a brief kiss on her cheek. "I see you made it here." He then sat himself down in the chair opposite her behind the desk.

"Evidently I did." She then adjusted the hem of her dress as it lay against her knee, patting a crease away. "The children are both fine, by the way."

His eyes flashed in anger. "I would have asked about them if you had given me a chance."

So she smiled her sweetest smile. "I can tell you would have. Let's end this charade, shall we? Either you want more money from the estate, or you are finally filing for divorce from me."

"Ah, well," he spluttered, and gave the back of his neck a tender rub. "As always you know me only too well. I need some of my funds and I want to arrange a wedding."

"Really?" She mischievously grinned at him. "Are you offering to pay for Martha's wedding to Mickey, or are you planning a completely different one?"

"If you must know," he retorted, and fiddled with the collar of his shirt, "the wedding in question is my own; to Rose Tyler."

Donna waved her hand about as though she were trying to get a proper grip on the name. "You'll have to remind me. Is it Rose that was nineteen when you met her or is she the one that's blonde and from the Powell Estate?"

"She is all of those," the Doctor confirmed. "And you know only too well that she is the only possible candidate."

"Do I? I get so confused with all these young girls you chase after," she said to deliberately rile him. "If it is merely their youth you are after then you could just as easily take Jenny with you."

This was a sore point between them, that he continued to take companions with him who weren't related to him. "There is plenty of time to take Jenny with me in the future. Until then she has her university education to worry about and finish," he countered.

"Ah, yes, her education," Donna echoed. "If you ruin her emotional stability with this silly divorce nonsense then I shall make sure you regret it every second of every day."

"What about Ben?" he instantly queried spitefully. "Or do we not worry about him anymore?"

She snorted her scorn. "His university education is coming along swimmingly, thank you very much; and he has my mother to ruin his emotional stability, should she so desire."

They shared an understanding look between them. His mother-in-law's attitude towards his son was the direct opposite to how she regularly treated him. No doubt her aggressive attitude would only get worse during the coming months, once she heard the news of their impending divorce. "How is she treating you?" he asked more kindly.

"The usual," Donna admitted, biting down on her resentment. "She's enjoying using Ben to emotionally blackmail me at every opportunity. Sometimes I wish he hadn't decided to lodge with her."

"I'm so sorry," the Doctor readily offered consolation.

She nodded her acknowledgement. All of that could wait until later; they had more important matters to attend to. "Why haven't you gone the easy route and given me the option of divorcing you on the grounds of adultery?"

"You know why not," he sulkily responded. "Our bond means that I cannot commit adultery in any shape or form until you release me from it."

"Oh yes," she pretended to remember when she knew only too well that he wouldn't be able to do much beyond hold hands or give pecks of kisses to Rose until their marriage bond was broken. "So how do you want us to do this? I can be civilised and modern, or if you prefer, I can do the whole jealous catfight whilst decking the bitch."

"Donna!" he gently warned. "I should tell you that Rose is predisposed towards the catfight option, but I would like the modern route; hence us being here in our office," he explained.

"Just shut up and carry on as if nothing has happened, you mean. How very British of us," she mocked, and then leaned forward. "We need to establish boundaries and agendas for this. There are certain things I want to retain; my home obviously being one of them. What exactly are your demands, and what level of access do you want?"

A broad grin spread across his face. "I want to see the children every now and then, and I want us to assimilate being a happy modern family," he proposed. "And I'd like us to start by having a meal together. A sort of meet and greet, if you like."

"I can do that," she conceded with a nod. "I'll make a reservation at the Callaway Club tomorrow. It shouldn't be too hard to get us a decent table at my club. Would Saturday be okay? Jenny is due to pop down this weekend anyway, and it would be a short trip for Ben since he is still staying at Mum's."

"That would do nicely," the Doctor happily approved.

~o~

A sleek black London taxi pulled up outside the historic grandeur that was known as the Callaway Club; an exclusive resort for those who could afford to be there. Or an ultra-posh Starbucks, if you'd like to call it that. From inside the cab, perched on the edge of the back seat, Donna looked up at the ancient building, wondering how much longer she would be able to afford to be part of its life. Divorces can be very expensive affairs, in more ways than one.

"Hello Lady Gallifreyan," the maître d' greeted Donna as she stepped in to the Callaway Club restaurant. "Your table is ready and some of your guests are here, if you would follow me."

Allowing the woman to take her coat once it was shrugged off, Donna warmly replied, "Hello Gita. It's lovely to see you again. I hope you are feeling better now. Just to warn you, I'll be back to plain old Ms Noble soon."

"You're getting divorced?" Gita queried as she wrapped Donna's coat over her arm for safety until she could deposit it in the cloakroom. "I am sorry to hear that."

"It was inevitable," Donna calmly dismissed it. She then whispered conspiratorially, "He's at that age."

Gita merely nodded in understanding. "Miss Noble and Master Noble are waiting for you in the bar."

"Oh good," Donna spoke with relief. There was nothing worse than hanging about waiting for late guests to arrive; and they were the ones she cared most about.

Spotting them seated at the bar, they immediately stood to greet her, hugs exchanged and received all round. In next to no time they were seated at their table, drinks were ordered, and their food chosen in lieu of their other guests arriving.

~o~

"Couldn't you have dressed a bit posher, Ben?" Jenny griped, pointing accusingly at his college rugby shirt first and then lowered it passed his designer jeans. "Look at the state of your Converses."

"What?!" Ben defensively grumbled, casting his gaze downwards. "It's all relatively new and clean. I don't understand your problem. I'm supposed to dress like this; I'm a flipping student, for god's sake."

"And don't we know it," Jenny argued, deliberately rolling her eyes. "At least I made some effort."

"Well, you would," he countered. "You're rather fond of camouflage, so that you can hide in places."

"Shush children! Stop squabbling!" Donna hushed them as they continued to bicker. Obviously they had missed being able to goad each other at every opportunity. "I need to tell you something important."

"Is it anything to do with that little blonde Dad's been seen gadding about with?" Ben wondered. "Because I already know."

"Me too," Jenny added nonchalantly, breaking into her bread roll to apply the butter. "Martha told me all about it."

Bugger! She had been looking forward to dropping that bombshell. "Be that as it may," Donna continued, "things have moved on with your father. He's asked me for a divorce, he wants to marry Rose, and they will be joining us for dinner any moment now."

They both stared at her in silence for a few seconds.

"They are coming here?!" Jenny protested. "How could you do that?"

Ben shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. "If you end up trying to marry her off to me instead I will never talk to you again."

"I promise I won't," Donna hastily agreed. "But you do need to meet her if she is going to become your stepmother."

"Oh great!" Jenny sighed. "How old is she exactly?"

"Same age as us, apparently," Ben supplied as he bit into his own bread roll. "Judging by what Mickey said."

"She'll try to be my friend," Jenny sneered. "How wizard!"

"I won't like her so I don't know why Dad is bothering," Ben put in stubbornly.

"How do you know without meeting her?" Donna reasoned. "You might end up adoring her."

"And pigs might fly," Ben scoffed. "I've already got a decent mother and I don't need another one; especially if she starts trying to order me about. She can jog on!"

Jenny eagerly nodded her agreement.

Pleased with the compliment, Donna reached out to take Ben's hand and remarked, "That's good to know. You'll soon find out for definite if that's true because here they come."

All three turned in their seats to watch the couple walking towards them. A tall, spikey brown haired man aged about forty walked through the restaurant beside a short blonde young woman with a large beaming smile. Yes, all three agreed that she was _exactly_ the same age as Jenny and Ben.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I would have added in a link to the theme tune to "Penny Crayon" but that isn't allowed, so unfortunately you'll have to Google it instead. 

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><p><strong>Part Two<strong>

.

Rose could feel three pairs of eyes judging her as she crossed the dining room with her almost-fiancé. Once the divorce went through he would become her fully fledged fiancé, and then within a short while, her husband. She could hardly wait! But until then, these three people would hold some sway over him; especially the wife.

As they got nearer, Rose could appraise them properly. The wife was a sour-faced woman of about forty, with long ginger hair. That explained the Doctor going on about his love of that hair type, she reluctantly supposed; and felt the first pang of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. It wouldn't be the only time that day. To the right of the ginger stood a girl with blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, and a tall boy with brown hair that had a strong tint of ginger in it. The other thing about the boy she noted, apart from his approximate age to hers, was his striking features. You could almost say he was a younger version of the Doctor, so close to him in looks was he; and she felt a flutter as her interest in him instantly grew. The girl was much shorter, and closer to being a younger version of her mother; right down to the expensive clothes, makeup and perfume. It was fairly easy to dismiss her as a possible enemy. And it was at this point that Rose realised that the Doctor had made no attempt to hold her hand as they had approached his family.

It was left to the Doctor to make the introductions. "Rose, I'd like you to meet my daughter Jenny, my son Ben, and my current wife Donna. Everyone, this is Rose Tyler."

There were polite 'hello's all round. He hadn't expected more than that yet.

The Doctor assisted into Rose into her seat and then sat himself between her and Donna. "This is nice," he pleasantly remarked, opening up his napkin in order to drape it across his lap before perusing the menu. "It's been a while since we had a family meal together."

"Far too long," Donna agreed. "Jenny had just been accepted into Cambridge."

"So… Jenny and Benny." Rose smirked at them, wanting to join the conversation. "That's almost too cute!"

"It is 'Ben', or 'Benjamin'," Ben tersely corrected her. "Nobody calls me 'Benny'." He then added under his breath, "And lives."

"He was always called Benjamin by Donna when he was tiny," the Doctor teased, much to Ben's mortification. "What was his pet name you used?" he aimed his question towards Donna.

Reluctantly, she admitted, "I used to call him Benjamin Bunny."

There was a muffled groan. "That's not as bad as Jenny's," Ben gleefully added.

"Why? What were you called Jenny?" Rose eagerly wondered.

Jenny sneered. "I was Jenny Crayon. Mum even sung the Penny Crayon theme tune to me. It took me years to realise it wasn't about me."

"That's sweet!" Rose insisted.

"Yes, well, Uncle Peter still drags it up when he can," Jenny complained.

"Uncle Peter?" Rose looked at the Doctor in confusion. "Who is Uncle Peter? I don't think I've heard you mention him."

"You wouldn't." The Doctor bristled. "Peter is one of Donna's lame ducks." Again he aimed a question solely at Donna. "Do you still refer to him as Peter Rabbit?"

Damn him bringing that up! "Peter is not a lame duck, as you know all too well. He merely has his problems." Both Jenny and Ben perked up at this dismissal. Obviously they didn't believe this for a second. "You might know him as the magician Peter Vincent," she informed Rose.

"THE Peter Vincent?" Rose wondered in delight, highly impressed by the connection that she might be making in the near future. "How did you get to meet him?"

"Oh, he used to be with my cousin Nellie, long ago. Me, her and Janice, her sister, used to hang out together quite a lot at one time, back when we were teenagers. Anyway, we still keep in touch," Donna supplied.

"I bet he does," the Doctor mumbled. "The man could never keep away from you. Once the divorce goes through he'll swoop in and try to claim you back."

Jenny nudged her brother in the side and raised her eyebrows at her father's sudden jealous streak. Ben grinned triumphantly back.

"Don't talk wet!" Donna protested. "His heart belongs to Nellie. Always has done and always will. Everybody knows that."

"Somebody's going to get a big surprise very soon," the Doctor almost sing-songed. "He'll be round like a shot. You mark my words."

"Perhaps he will," Donna conceded. "But it doesn't matter what happens after the divorce, because it'll be none of your business."

"Pft!" he huffed in disgust, folding his arms across his chest. "If it affects Jenny and Ben, it affects me."

It was on the tip of her tongue to demand since when had he gained this need to be affected, but she bit down on it. Instead it was left to Ben to make a remark.

"In that case you'll care that I can write a complete list out for you to mull over while you escape to another part of the world. I can even backdate it, if you like," Ben considered.

With the same keenness Jenny added in, "I can easily do the same, Dad. We wouldn't want you to miss out on a second, would we, Ben?"

Ben shook his head. "It'd be a crying shame if he did. There's lots and lots to be affected by." Noting his father's lack of enthusiasm, he deliberately mused, "Then again, we could get Uncle Peter to stand in if you're too busy elsewhere."

Inevitably the Doctor appealed to Donna for support when glaring at Ben didn't gain the apology he wanted, and Ben only stopped smirking because the waiter appeared, loaded with plates.

"Don't look at me, they're your children too," she told him. "And you're the one that insisted on a family meal. Thank goodness you timed this so that we won't have to have a custody battle. Unless you particularly wanted that garden gnome we bought ages ago."

"I'd have stayed with you, Mum," Ben immediately commented, tucking into his meal that had recently arrived.

"Thanks Ben," the Doctor sighed, picking despondently at his own meal. "What about you, Jenny? Would you have stayed with your old dad?"

Jenny halted using her cutlery to regard him. "Let's be honest, Dad; if you'd wanted me to stay with you you'd have invited me along on one of your tours by now. But you obviously don't want me that much."

"That isn't true!" he denied. "I would love you to come with me, but we decided that you would finish your education first."

"Who's 'we'?!" Jenny petulantly asked; rather inevitably, in Donna's opinion.

The Doctor partially waved his knife towards Donna. "Me and your mother."

As Jenny glared at her father, Rose tried to change the subject. "Where is it you both go to university?"

"Jenny is in Cambridge and I'm here in London, at Imperial College," Ben answered. "How come you didn't go to college?"

"Oh, I don't have the brains, and Mum couldn't afford it. No, I got a job as soon as I could after leaving school," Rose explained. "I was at Hendrick's. That's where I met the Doctor," she continued proudly.

"The exploding dummies," Donna commented more to herself than anyone else. "He tends to find trouble like that. It took me ages to get the soot out of his shirt."

The Doctor wriggled uncomfortably in his seat, reminded of his guilt, and decided to retaliate. "Never mind; you'll soon be able to do all that fussing over Peter instead."

"What is it with you and Peter?!" Donna grumbled. "He has been nothing but a good friend to me. If you must know, I've been asked out by someone completely different." Oops! She hadn't meant to reveal that to him at all.

"You have? Who?" Ben wondered, suddenly looking up from his dinner. "I hope his intentions are honourable."

Donna had to laugh at that. "I'm sure they are. It was Shaun."

There was a horrified gasp from Jenny. "Shaun! As in Shaun Temple? How could you, Mum?" she demanded. "Shaun, of all people."

"I don't understand," Rose confessed. "Who is Shaun and why is he so bad?"

"Our deliveryman. He isn't a bad person," Ben hastily put in, "but…"

"But hardly the ideal choice for Lady Gallifreyan," the Doctor continued, his face like thunder.

"You're forgetting something," Donna argued. "When the divorce goes through I won't be even be Lady Chiswick, let alone Lady Gallifreyan. These two will be Gallifreyans but I won't be a proper one anymore. I'll be bog standard Donna Noble again."

"You were never anything but brilliant, Donna," the Doctor easily complimented her, and got a kick in the ankle from Rose for his troubles.

"Where's the loo?" Rose suddenly asked in a stage whisper.

Donna carefully put down her napkin onto the crisp white tablecloth next to her plate. "Hang on and I'll come with you. I need to go too."

They both stood and Donna led the way through the dining room and out into the main lobby. It was easy to understand why someone would be daunted by the place, and she had been too when she had first walked over the threshold many years before. Nowadays she was an established face, thanks to her social standing and the charity work she would continue to carry out. The social standing part would slip considerably once her title was removed. Oh well. That wasn't the part she would miss when all was said and done. Fortunately Jenny wouldn't miss out in that respect.

~o~

They had finished their ablutions and Donna was stood at a sink washing her hands when she saw Rose leave a stall and come up behind her, their eyes meeting via the wall mirror. Here it comes, she thought.

"Can I ask you something?" Rose began as she turned the tap on and soaped up her hands. "How did you and the Doctor meet?"

A silent "phew!" went through Donna's mind. She had been expecting a lot worse question then that. "Did he not tell you? He rescued me from an abusive fiancé, from the actual wedding I'd been coerced into. Believe it or not but his first sight of me was in a wedding dress." She coughed a laugh. "Well at least I got my wedding night, just not with the original bridegroom, funnily enough, but with a completely different bloke instead. Don't tell my mum that, by the way. It was bad enough as it was, fielding off her questions."

"So you and the Doctor did it on your first night?" Rose queried, clearly rather put out by the thought.

In reply Donna mischievously smirked at her, drying her hands as she did so. "Oh, we did more than that. We practically eloped together. It was all pretty quick between us, going from anger, hate, respect, through to love in a few hours. By the end of the night he was asking me to stay with him. As you know, he can be like that."

"Yes," Rose answered in a way that showed disagreement.

Ooh, feeling a little green eyed are we, Donna thought immediately. Don't ask if you don't want to know.

"Aren't you going to ask how the Doctor and me met?" Rose openly wondered as they made to leave the ladies' toilets.

"I already know," Donna admitted. "He told me all about it at the time. There isn't much he doesn't tell me, eventually. I suppose that'll all change now too," she noted the end part to herself. Shame.

"But what about this special connection he said you two had?" Rose pressed for information, keen to get an answer. "Something about in your mind." She did a weird wavy motion with her hand around her head in demonstration.

"Oh, you mean our psychic connection," Donna realised. Well, she pretended she'd had no idea. "Every thought he has can appear in my mind. And I mean everything."

Leaving that little bombshell to create damage, she strode back to her waiting family.

~o~


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I've been encouraged to be extremely naughty with this fic, so I might give in to that.

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><p><strong>Part Three<strong>

.

Jenny had waited for Rose to properly disappear out of the room before she made her attack. "Are you out of your tiny mind, Dad?"

"What?" he innocently questioned. "I ordered the chicken in all good faith. Shouldn't I have done?"

"Dad, stop being such a prat," Ben chided him. "We're talking about you and your latest… erm… ward."

The Doctor deliberately peered into Ben's eyes. "How old are you? That's a very old fashioned term. Ward, indeed!"

"I'm nineteen and Jenny is twenty, or have you forgotten already? D'uh!" Ben mocked. "Whatever you choose to call her, Rose is the same age as us."

"It's disgusting!" Jenny continued the train of thought. "Have you been lusting after my friends all these years? The whole idea makes my skin crawl."

"Don't mince your words," the Doctor bit back sarcastically. "Just let me know how you really feel."

"Can't you see how wrong this is?" Jenny pleaded.

"I don't see why you consider it wrong. Your mother was twenty when she had you; and we'd been married…" He threw in a faint head bob at this point as he battled with how much to reveal. "…almost a year by then," he argued.

"The point is that you were also twenty at the time," Ben countered. "All perfectly normal stuff. Okay, you being a member of a successful band, like The Time Lords, isn't an everyday thing, I admit."

"But it paid for your childhood home and your education," the Doctor claimed. "I don't care what you say," he said to Jenny as she opened her mouth to protest again, "it is my life and I will lead it as I deem fit."

After that the three of them sat in sulky silence.

~o~

With the return of Donna and Rose the talk had returned to the Doctor's favourite topic: his ever increasing work commitments. As usual, he had things mapped out for the foreseeable future, his mind keen to seek out a new piece of information.

His two children may have been angry with him, but they wanted still him to be falling over himself to spend every available minute with them. Hearing him waffle on made their hearts sink even further. Donna could feel their anxiety and knew that one of them would blurt something out, any second now.

"After that I was thinking of popping over to the Isle of Wight, since…," the Doctor began to explain, but he was interrupted.

"What about Martha's wedding? You are coming to it, aren't you, Dad?" Jenny beseeched, laying on the full pout with the kicked puppy look. "It would be awfully rude if you didn't."

In reply, the Doctor looked towards Rose before cautiously answering, "I think that can be arranged."

"When is it?" Rose asked angrily, adding in a barely disguised huff for good effect.

So Rose had heard about Martha, huh? "The wedding is next month, on the twelfth," Donna supplied for the Doctor's benefit. "I had already organised you a suit, but if you want to choose your own one…"

"I'll pick him one out," Rose defiantly responded.

At exactly the same time, the Doctor agreed, "That will be fine. Your taste is better than mine."

The glare Rose threw at him was positively lethal. "Sorry, the twelfth is out; I've promised Mum we'll do something that Saturday."

"Have you?" he wondered, and moved his ankles away from her. "That is a shame because you will miss out on meeting Martha. She is such a lovely girl."

"She is," Donna readily agreed. "Do you want me to protect you from her mother again?" she asked him mischievously.

"She's referring to a slap," the Doctor hastily supplied when Rose audibly wondered what Donna was on about. "A slap I deserved, I admit that, for taking her daughter away."

"Too right you did," Donna had no problem in agreeing. "But I wasn't going to let her do that in front of me and the children."

"Mum, I can cope with Dad getting a slap or two. I'm not some little kid!" Ben griped. "Anybody would think I'm only four."

"Mentally you are," Jenny teased. "And Mum was right to stop her. I certainly didn't want to see that."

"That's arranged then, Rose will go somewhere with her mother, we'll all go to Martha's wedding together, and I'll keep Donna by me to protect me from Francine," the Doctor declared.

Jenny was highly amused by the angry pout on Rose's face. _No goading her…_ _too much_, she heard in her head from her brother; and instantly giggled.

"What plans do you have for the rest of your weekend, Jenny?"

The question shook her out of her musings. "I thought I might take Jinty up on her offer."

"Which one is that?" the Doctor continued questioning her. "Jinty is the one that lives up near Primrose Hill, right?"

"Yes Dad," Jenny confirmed, instantly wondering if she had been on his 'teens I fancy' list too. "She offered to go horse-riding with me."

"I'd love to do that!" Rose then looked guilty that she had blurted that snippet out. "You don't often get the chance to ride a horse where I come from, it's too expensive," she more quietly confessed. "But I'd like to do it again."

"Why don't you go with Jenny?" the Doctor suggested. He then turned to pin his daughter down with a look. "I'm sure she could arrange it for you."

Oh great! Now she was being coerced into socialising with the girlfriend. "You can come too if you like," Jenny offered as magnanimously as she could, in the circumstances. "Or I'll try and arrange it for next weekend."

"If Rose goes with Jenny tomorrow you might as well come to Sunday tea afterwards," Donna proposed, ignoring the horror in Jenny's mind.

The Doctor was certainly pleased by this snippet of offered domesticity. Donna could be relied upon to put on a good spread, with homemade cakes and everything. "We'll be there," he promised, and beamed with happiness that Rose would gain something she wanted while he got to spend time with his children without too much fuss from her.

Jenny, on the other hand, wanted to crawl away and die. A whole afternoon with her father's girlfriend, she considered. _There is a way to make it fun_, her brother suggested silently; and she finally found a reason to smile.

~o~

It was no great shock when Donna opened her front door the following afternoon and found her husband standing there looking extremely pleased with himself. Stepping into the hallway, he declared, "That didn't go too badly. We found some riding gear for Rose to wear and I've just dropped her off at the stables. I've told her to phone here when it's time for me to go and pick them up. I hope that's okay?"

"More than okay," Donna confirmed as she led the way into the kitchen. "Was Jenny alright?"

"I think so," he answered distractedly, bobbing his head and casting his gaze around. "Where's Ben?"

"He's in the lounge playing that game of his." Donna had turned her back to him and was filling up the kettle with water at the sink, so she didn't know he had come up behind her until she felt his arms go around her waist. "What's all this for?" she wondered as he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck and gave her a faint squeeze.

"I'm just saying 'thank you' for being wonderful," he murmured next to her skin. "You're the best; putting up with me all these years like you have."

"It was written in my contract," she joked, clicking on the kettle. "I signed on the dotted line and everything."

"No, I mean it," he insisted, and twirled her around to face him. "Whatever happens, you are still my best friend."

"I'd be a lousy wife if I wasn't," she modestly retorted. "What's really brought this on?"

He sighed. "If you must know, I've been thinking how everybody else that I started out with has crashed and burned; but me, I had you to keep me grounded. You stopped me doing something stupid."

"Are you sure I didn't?" she queried, thinking of his latest exploits. "Or is falling out of love with me classed as something else?"

Cupping her face, he sincerely told her, "I haven't fallen out of love with you, Snuggles. Don't be silly. Not quite. I still love you, but in a different way. As it is, I will never stop loving you and I can't imagine not fancying you either."

Donna wryly laughed. "Don't let Rose hear you say that; and you're only saying it because you're feeling a bit desperate."

He waggled his eyebrows saucily. "Well, if you want a little trip into the bedroom..."

So she thumped his arm. "Give over! You always did want a quick bunk up."

"Can you blame me?" he near purred. "I come home and there is all this gorgeousness waiting for me."

"Go and find Ben," she ordered before she caved and let him have his wicked way. Those damn sexy eyes of his always did have an unwanted effect on her; and she needed to think clearly how best to use his evident attraction for good.

With a laugh, he released her and sauntered off.

An hour or so later, Ben wandered into the kitchen to find his mother.

"What's the problem? Finished your game of chess with your dad already?" she asked in amazement. Normally the pair of them could keep going with their mini tournaments for ages.

Ben thumbed towards where he had been sitting. "Dad's fallen asleep on the settee. All this running around after a younger woman isn't doing him any good."

"It's not doing me any good either," Donna playfully remarked. "Let him sleep for a while, and if you're good you can help me get these scones finished."

"You're too kind," he mocked, and went to collect an apron. A manly one, mark you, he'd insisted; like Gordon Ramsay wears. "You just want me for my rolling pin skills."

"How did you know?" she responded, and passed him the bowl containing the dough. "I'm letting you work your way up to being a tart; I mean, baking a tart."

He drily laughed his amusement and then keenly eyed the scones that were already cut out and waiting to go into the oven. "Now which one shall I put the poison in…?"

~o~

They had been bustling about in the kitchen for quite a while when Donna looked up at the wall clock in concern. "It's been an hour at least. I'd better go and wake him. Princess Margaret Rose will want her servant back."

"Yeah, we don't want to upset her. Oh no," Ben sarcastically agreed. "She might start trying to paw at me again like she did yesterday."

"Did she?" Donna wondered as she feigned innocence. The fact was that the three of them had all remarked on it afterwards. "You can tell how much in love with your father she is, that'd she'd throw herself on to a lookalike. Pretty sick, eh."

She then added in a flick of her tongue out the side of her mouth to tease him; and then she made her way to where the Doctor laid sprawled all over one of her sofas.

He looked so vulnerable and peaceful as he lay there; and she was loathed to disturb his obviously much needed sleep, but he would get into trouble if he wasn't attentive enough later on. Reaching out a hand to swipe his fringe out of his eyes, adding in a loving caress as she did so out of habit as much as anything else, she softly crooned, "John! John, darling! Time to wake up."

As his eyes opened the blearily eyed expression immediately changed as soon as he saw her kneeling there. A beautiful smile appeared. "Hello," he slowly greeted her, and reached out. "Come and lie with me. Just for a cuddle," he added when she shook her head. _Please_.

She allowed him to take gentle hold of her wrist then her hands to pull her closer. _Thought this wasn't allowed anymore, _she reasoned; easily slipping into a more intimate form of communication.

_A lot more than this is allowed, and I want to cuddle my wife. Is that too much to ask for_? He wrapped an arm around her body and then eased her down to lie beside him before turning them both until she was trapped between him and the cushions.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four**

.

'Typical him!' Donna thought. _It is too much to ask when I've received my marching orders,_ she warned. _Just five minutes._

The Doctor immediately snuggled into her, his face pressed into her neck to hide his grin. _I'll take whatever I can._

Don't I know it!

There was an answering chuckle. _I'd give you anything I could; even the stars._

At one time you would've. Not now.

His head lifted so that he could gaze into her eyes. "It's true what I said earlier. I still love you despite what you may think."

"Yeah, yeah; if you say so." She snorted her scorn.

"How do you want me to prove it?"

It was on the tip of her tongue to say: give me back you. But she knew such words would be futile if he didn't act willingly.

Seeing the sad expression in her eyes, he tipped forward to wipe it away with a tender kiss to her cheek, just like he had always done when she wouldn't voice her wants. _I'd make love to you right here and now if you wanted._

Not this again! That's merely desperation talking,

she countered.

He nuzzled closer. _No, it's how sexy I think you are. God, you smell divine!_

And you are all talk! Stop this right now.

As she pushed herself away from him, accidentally winding him by doing so, the telephone rang; and he had only started to draw breath again when Ben called out to say the call was for him.

Just before this, Ben had raced down the hallway to answer the phone as it rang angrily for someone to pay attention to it. He enjoyed sliding along on his socks across the polished floor before sweeping up the handset, and gazed at the display. The caller ID was unknown to him, so Ben merrily answered with, "Hello, Battersea Dogs Home, how may I help you?"

A distraught female voice accosted him on the other end of the line. One that was vaguely familiar.

"Calm down, love, I can't make out what you are saying? Did you say you want a doctor; only this isn't the surgery, that number is… Oh, THE Doctor. I see. Well, we've got one of them. He's somewhere shagging, I mean, talking to Mum. Hang on." He clasped a finger over the microphone and called out, "Dad! It's for you! She sounds a bit upset!"

"Bring it in here, please," he heard from a nearby room.

Walking into the lounge he then saw his parents incriminatingly entwined on the settee. "How much can I be bribed for not disclosing this little scene?" Ben gleefully asked his disgruntled father.

"I'll be showing off your baby album if you're not careful. Just give me the phone," the Doctor ordered, and took the telephone in his son's hand once he had sat himself up on the sofa cushions. "Hello Rose. Are you ready to be picked up yet?" There was some frantic talking on the other end. "You're at the hospital?! Why are you there? What happened? You'll have to speak slower. All I got was something about disgusting mud and the rest was a whiny mumble." A good minute later, he responded with a, "Oh, I see. That is terrible. Give me a ring when they've finished seeing to you and I'll come and get you both. Now there's no need to cry; Jenny is with you. Bye!"

"Well?!" Donna asked as they both got up and they all headed for the hallway. "Has she hurt herself? And what about Jenny?"

"Has Rose had a heart attack, broken neck, or mental breakdown?" Ben queried with far too much enthusiasm for the Doctor's liking.

"Jenny is apparently fine; it's Rose that is injured. She fell off her horse, hit a fence panel, landed in a pile of manure, and has broken her leg," the Doctor explained, carefully placing the phone back in its cradle.

"No!" Donna managed to gasp sympathetically as Ben tried to stifle his amused reaction. "How awful. I wonder how that happened. Bang goes all that gadding about you were planning to do. Such a shame. " To both males' consternation, she looked at her watch and then exclaimed, "Look at the time! You'd better get a move on. They'll be waiting for you to turn up in A&E."

The Doctor found his jacket being thrust into his hand but saw to his dismay that she made no effort to collect her own coat. "Aren't you coming up the hospital with me? Surely you want to check that Jenny is okay for yourself."

"No, I trust you," she brightly answered. "I erm... I'll stay here and look after things. There's a tray of sausage rolls still to be cooked." She hastily looked at her son. "Ben can go with you to keep you company."

"Mum!" he protested. _I don't want to sit with HER,_ he frantically pushed into her mind. "Do I have to?"

"What's up?" The Doctor eyed her suspiciously. "Why are you deliberately avoiding coming?"

"No reason," she faintly answered, almost jigging nervously on the spot.

"Too right," Ben grumbled in disbelief as he gained a flash of something else entirely. "You're just making sure you're here when Uncle Peter phones."

"Peter?!" The Doctor gritted his teeth. "Is there something you should be telling me?"

"Nope, nothing at all," she insisted, practically shoving them out the door. "Nothing to tell. Go and get Jenny... and the other one. They'll be starving by now. I'll have tea all laid out nicely by the time you get back. Go on!"

"Alright," the Doctor reluctantly acknowledged, but silently vowed that he'd get to the bottom of this mystery.

~o~

Jenny was sitting all alone in a hospital corridor when they eventually found her. "Thank god you've finally arrived," she greeted them with relief, giving both men a heartfelt hug. "It's been murder sitting waiting for the x-ray to be done and then the plaster to be sorted out."

"Given you grief, has she?" Ben asked knowingly.

"Not half!" Jenny responded without thinking, and then went contrite. "It must be very difficult for her," she politely amended.

"How did it actually happen?" the Doctor. "The falling off the horse part, I mean."

"It wasn't deliberate, Dad. Honest, it wasn't," Jenny maintained. "She suddenly fell off Tyson and crashed into the fence."

Knowing he'd only find out if he had Jenny on her own and away from her brother, the Doctor shoved a hand into his trouser pocket and brought out a pile of coins. "Ben, here's some change. Go and get us all a cold drink from the vending machine."

"Okay, Dad." _And no revealing anything,_ he added purely for his sister.

After some silent seconds, Jenny guiltily blurted out, "I really didn't mean this to happen, Dad." It had gone even better than her plan, but no way in hell would she admit that one.

"I'll believe you." The Doctor then thought to sneakily commiserate, "It must be tricky when you might have to miss out on the plans you've got with Uncle Peter later."

"Not particularly," Jenny innocently confessed as she continued to look down at her hands. "Mum is going out with him tomorrow." 'Oh bugger!' she suddenly thought, lifting her head up in shock. "Purely as friends," she hastily added when she saw the stern set of his mouth, "and not as... Oh look, here comes Ben with our drinks. Good because I'm gasping for one. It's been a long day so far."

Before her father could insist that she explain herself, he heard "Doctor!" yelled out by a female voice.

There came a squeal from very close behind him, and then suddenly he was pulled down by a wheelchair-bound woman and encased within a sobbing hug as Rose clung on tight around his neck. "I was beginning to think I'd never see you again."

"Aw, isn't that nice. Is this your family? Would dad like to come through and hear about the medication you'll need, Rose?" kindly offered the accompanying nurse who held onto the wheelchair. "As well as the leg she's had a bit of a bump on the head," she aimed towards the Doctor as she started to lead the way to another room.

"He's MY dad and Rose's fiancé," Jenny explained; gaining a shocked reaction from the nurse.

_Result!_ Ben cheered in Jenny's mind. Seeing that they were now alone in the corridor, he risked whispering, "What did you really do?"

After double checking Rose and her father weren't coming back just yet, Jenny confided in low tones, "First, I made sure Rose was given Tyson to ride because he tends to be the easiest to manipulate. Using the guise of feeding him carrots, I spoke into the horse's mind first of all, to see if he would carry out a simple request; so Rose kept having Tyson halt, or turn his head and nip in her direction. Twice he almost got the tips of her boots. It's amazing what promising a basket of apples will do. And when that worked, I asked him to go in the opposite direction to what she wanted, hoping she'd fall in the manure. I didn't expect him to throw her into the fence as well; or fart right in her face."

_Added bonus though,_ Ben cheekily praised her as the sound of Rose's voice filtered back in to the corridor.

That gained a fervent nod. _Totally worth all the apples he is going to get,_ Jenny agreed and then turned to ask her father as he reappeared, "All done?"

With a sigh of exasperation, he gestured for them to get moving. "Let's go home, get you cleaned up and have something to eat." _This is going to be a long six weeks,_ he added to both Jenny and Ben; causing them to share many delighted smirks behind Rose's back.

~o~

Their meal was over and Donna was loading up the dishwasher when the Doctor sauntered out to her, having left Rose propped up on cushions. There had been numerous whispered complaints about coping with stairs, how tired she felt, how much she ached, and that she didn't think she could manage to overcome her broken leg whilst staying in his flat. Already the whole situation was grating on his nerves, and he was tempted to follow his daughter's example.

Jenny had eagerly escaped any further commitment, mumbling something about guinea pigs needing to be seen to; even though he was convinced they had died the year before. She had done this because she had spent a fair amount of time sorting out some clean clothes for Rose to change into once when they had got home; a task that had gained reserved thanks. Rose had made a fuss as she had washed herself as best she could, with a little help from Donna; much to both their shared reluctance, but it had to be done, and Donna had the motherly skills to wash a squirming infant.

Being young and inexperienced had worked in Ben's favour this time. As it was, he had made sure he was sitting nowhere near Rose in the lounge, and the last thing he wanted was to be chosen to wait hand and foot on her. She hadn't earned the right to expect that of him, and he highly doubted she ever would, despite her impending marriage to his father; or because of that he hadn't decided yet. So far all she had done was scowl at him or send him flirty smiles. Both he could do without; so he buried himself in watching some film on the television and ignored her as much as he could.

Seeing Donna intently carrying out her task, the Doctor ambled closer and considered how best to word his request "Donna...?" he began to ask; but she quickly held up a hand to interrupt him.

"Don't even ask," she warned.

"Ask what?" he innocently queried.

"Before you try and guilt me into it, no, I won't have Rose stay here and look after her for you," Donna accurately predicted his request. "She should go back and stay with her mother."

"But Donna," he whined, and tried the full kicked puppy expression.

"No!" she said more firmly.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** looking for possible pictures of "rocker John Barrowman" gave me such a giggle today, so I thoroughly recommend it.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Five<strong>

.

"I don't need another child around the place and I certainly don't want her trying to turn me into her personal maid." If it came to it, she would bring on the false tears because there was no way in hell she'd willingly take in his spoilt little Princess. "Now if you would kindly remove her before I…"

She didn't get the chance to voice her threat because the phone rang, totally changing the atmosphere within the kitchen.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" he icily wondered. "It might be for you."

"Or, it might not," she started to deny when the ringing abruptly stopped and she stared at him in suppressed horror.

"We've been busy," Ben spoke in friendly tones into the handset as he glided into the kitchen, ignoring the keen interest on his father's face as he headed towards Donna. "Baking scones and I even made you that cake you like. You're welcome! After that I had a trip to the hospital to pick up Dad's girlfriend. No, she doesn't work there; she went horse-riding with Jenny and fell off, landing right in the manure heap. Oh yes, it was really funny! Except for the broken leg, of course. Anyway, here's Mum." And with that he hastily thrust the phone into her hand. _Sorry, Dad,_ he flung out as he disappeared again.

But the Doctor's attention was all on Donna as she held the phone closely to her ear as if she were listening to a secret.

"Hello? Oh, hi Peter. How are you? Yes, I've got a bit of a houseful at the moment. Jenny is home for the weekend and we all went out for dinner yesterday at the Callaway. It was sort of nice; you know." She then twirled on the spot so that she was facing away from the Doctor. "That would be lovely. When were you thinking? …What time?" Letting out a flirtatious giggle, she added, "See you then!"

"So… what was your answer?" the Doctor asked, catching her completely off guard.

"Answer to what?" she wondered in confusion.

"Your answer to Shaun's offer. Are you going to go out with him?"

She bristled. "It's none of your business."

"For now it is," he countered.

"Did you consult me, let alone ask, before you ran away with Rose and got engaged to her?! I think not! So unless you seriously miss getting a slap from me I will rephrase this in two words: bugger off."

He turned his head, thinking this over. "It was a 'no' then," he commented to himself. "Has Peter asked you out properly, rather than some pseudo friends' thing?"

She smugly told him, "If you must know, it will be extremely friendly. We're going away for the weekend together, to a little country hotel in the Cotswolds."

"Over my dead body!" he roared, stepping closer.

"No, it'll be my body and he'll be over it in a four-poster bed, if my luck is in," she spat back. "You wanker!"

"Bitch!" he hissed in return at her, fury raging through him. "If you had been craving him climbing into your knickers you should have said earlier."

"Just like you have been for the whole of this afternoon?! Look where that got you, you smarmy, two timing git," she threw his way. "I am not yours to use and abuse. So you can sling your flaming hook."

There was a polite cough to the side of them, drawing their attention. "Sorry to disturb you while you two shout at each other but just to let you know," Jenny informed them, "we can all hear you as clear as a bell; and Rose has a few questions for you, Dad."

"Oh for f….," he muttered, and stormed out of the kitchen. "What now?!"

Reaching the lounge, Rose had risen from her seat after a great deal of struggle; and the effort had caused tears to form in her eyes. Was it him or was that outfit she was wearing a bit too small for her? Surely Jenny would have found her something that was a little less snug; although he did suspect the clothes had been chosen deliberately to cause Rose embarrassment. He may not see his children as often as he would like but he knew they could be terrible teases.

"Doctor? Is it true?" Rose weepily asked him.

"Is what true?" he wondered tersely, and grabbed up her bag. "Hurry up; we're taking you back home to your mother's."

"But I want to stay with you," she almost sobbed.

Sighing with exasperation, he assured her, "You'll see me, from time to time; but I can't look after you, Rose. I have contractual commitments I have to carry out over the coming weeks."

Rose gasped, bringing her hand up to her mouth as she clutched the back of the sofa for support. "I thought you and me couldn't be separated. Who will go with you instead?"

"Well…" He scratched his head in thought. _The ideal person would be Donna._ "I'd have to give that some thought."

For the second time that day Donna shoved his jacket into his hands. "I know, why don't you go do that in your own flat?" she suggested. "Rose looks tired, so you'd better hurry up and get home in time…" _to do her homework_ "…to get a good night's sleep."

Casting a disapproving glare in his soon to be ex-wife's direction, the Doctor guided Rose out to his car and then drove her to her mother's.

~o~

They were just about to settle down for the evening and Donna was rearranging and then plumping up the cushions on her settee when she came across a purse down between the larger ones. "Jenny, you'll need this in the morning," she told her daughter as she turned to hand it over.

"It's not mine," Jenny replied, having briefly examined it before giving it back.

Shrugging, Donna opened it to see what name was written on the credit or debit cards inside. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed. "This is Rose's."

"I'm not taking it to her," Ben felt the need to petulantly volunteer. "But I don't mind having a nose through it."

"No you won't," Donna cried, holding it away from him. "If anything goes missing I'll never hear the end of it. Although I am interested to see if she's conned a credit card out of your father."

All three peered closer as she drew out the relevant card.

"Well? Is it his account?" Jenny asked, ready to go ballistic if it was.

Still holding the credit card, Donna responded, "Strangely enough it isn't. That's a relief. But it does mean that I ought to give it back to her rather than 'accidentally' damage it." She then looked at her watch. "If I go now I can easily be home again by bedtime."

"Do you need me to come with you, Mum?" Ben kindly offered.

"No, I'll be fine, darling." She gratefully kissed his cheek. "I'm only going as far as your dad's place instead all the way over to the Powell Estate. What can possibly go wrong doing that?"

~o~

Ten minutes later she was ringing the bell of an upmarket city flat, wondering if she was doing the right thing by bringing the purse herself. After about thirty seconds a very familiar face opened the door to her.

There before her stood a tall man with old rocker-fashioned shaggy blonde hair that reached below his ears. "Harkie!" she cried with delight. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Jack. How are you?"

He immediate crushed her into a heartfelt hug. "It's good to see you too, Red!" Letting go, he informed her, "I got in this morning from visiting my folks and am crashing here for a few days. What's this about you two getting a divorce?"

"Oh, you heard," she sadly responded, averting her gaze due to a sudden attack of embarrassment. "He doesn't want me anymore but intends to marry a young girl called Rose."

Jack shook his head in disbelief. "How sane is he?"

That was nice of him to say, she considered as she risked returning her attention to him. "Let's put it this way; his ladder doesn't go all the way up to his loft, these days. Anyway, I brought this back…" From out of her pocket she extracted the small sparkly purple purse and handed it to him. "Can you give this to John to give to his fiancée when you next see him?"

He took hold of both the purse and her hand holding it. "Come and have a drink with me; catch up on old times. It's been too long since I saw you."

It would have been rude to deny him this, so she readily agreed. "But before I do, I need to let my two know where I am otherwise they'll fret."

"Sure!" Jack instantly acknowledged. "Perhaps we can arrange for me to see them too while we chat."

~o~

The Doctor entered his flat and flung his keys down onto his hall table with relief. It had been a long day, and he was extremely glad to be finally home. The last hour or so had been excruciating, explaining to Jackie why her daughter was hobbling about on crutches and having the whole interfering experience thrown in his face. It wasn't his fault that the horse Rose had ridden had deposited her into the stable's midden, nor was he responsible for making the next six weeks a possible obstacle course for Jackie as she rearranged her life to look after daughter. Perhaps he had done the right thing by not pointing out that that was the sort of thing parents are supposed to do for their children; since he knew that accusation could be easily used against him. Far too much of his own children's childhood had been missed by his frequent absences and he'd never had to deal with any of their illnesses, major or otherwise.

Sighing deeply, he suddenly spotted a familiar bag by his hall stand as he heard a duet of laughter from his kitchen from a man and a woman. Instantly he was intrigued. "Hello, Harkie! Have you got a woman in here?" he partially teased as he pushed open the door, and then gasped in surprise. "Donna! What's going on?"

Leaning back against his kitchen units was his fellow ex-band member of The Time Lords and his wife. Well, almost wife. Okay, soon to be ex-wife was a more accurate label. And the pair of them looked extremely chummy as they laughed and Harkie slung a loose arm around Donna's shoulders.

"Sorry, I was just going," Donna replied, extricating herself from Jack's loose embrace. "I found Rose's purse between my cushions, so I brought it back."

"That's very kind of you," he noted, still stunned by the sight of her. "You don't have to go yet."

"I'm afraid I do," she countered and turned to Jack. "I'll see you later, handsome."

"Bye Donna!" Jack called out to her as she headed for the front door.

The Doctor still held Rose's purse within his hand as he saw Donna out, and raised it in demonstration. "It was really kind of you to bring this over; you shouldn't have done. I could have easily come and got it."

She shrugged dismissively. "Well, I know how awkward it can be when you can't pay for something, and I got the chance to catch up with Harkie. It feels like forever since I last saw him. Talking of things in the past, I ought to come and remove my stuff from this place. That's if they haven't been chucked out already."

"Donna, I wouldn't be that mean," he assured her.

"Yeah, sure," she retorted, and left him standing there deep in thought.

"What's the real reason you're divorcing her?" Jack asked from behind him.

"I told you, I've found somebody else," the Doctor informed him. "Why do you ask?"

"You act like you regret it," admitted Jack. "Do you?"

"I don't know," the Doctor confessed. "Sometimes I wonder whether I'm doing the right thing, when we're alone together. But then she manages to drive me up the wall, and I can't even think straight."

"In that case, seeing as you're serious about moving on, do you mind if I take a shot at her?" Jack requested. "Or maybe not," he hastily amended when he saw the thunderous expression on his friend's face. "Just let me know if you ever change your mind."

Now in a foul mood, the Doctor headed for bed.

~o~


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** the next part may be delayed because I'll be out of the country until Friday.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Six<strong>

.

Unable to sleep, the Doctor continually tossed and turned. All his conversations with Donna that day kept playing in his mind. All the possible retaliations he could have made proceeded to bug him. After an hour he finally relented, picked up his phone, and typed in the text: 'Are you up? Can I talk to you? Please Donna. Doc xxx'

Luckily, or unluckily, depending upon your viewpoint, or if you were Rose, Donna was still awake and she readily picked up her phone from her bedside cabinet on hearing the text beep go off. So she texted back: 'Go on then and call me xx'

Within seconds her ringtone trilled and she hurriedly answered it before it could wake her children in nearby rooms. "Hello," she greeted him quietly. "What's the problem?"

"I just needed to hear your voice," he hastily said before she could hang up. "And to say I'm sorry about earlier; for shouting at you,"

"Are you drunk?" she asked; quite reasonably in the circumstances.

"No," he denied. "I might have had a glass of red with Harkie but nothing more than that. Honest." He wiped a hand across his brow before tugging nervously at his ear. "Donna, I don't know what to do. Please tell me where we go from here."

Sighing, she gently asked, "Why should I do that, John?"

"Because I'm having doubts, about this whole divorce thing," he admitted.

"Tell me, what exactly are these doubts you are having?" she wondered, adjusting her position on her pillows.

In a barely audible voice, he confessed, "Whether I actually love Rose enough and you too little in order to marry her." His spare hand went up and into his hair at this point, raking through it in agitation. "When I saw you today and heard about your plans to go off to stay somewhere with Peter, I just saw red. There was no way I could stop myself from acting like a prize prick when you really didn't deserve any of that. On top of it all, Rose acted like an immature child when we got in the car."

"That's because she is," Donna was unable to hold back. "She is only nineteen."

"She's turned twenty now, but I see what you mean," he conceded. "Sometimes I wonder why she chose me."

"Er… calling Dr Freud; it's daddy issues on the line," she joked, and was gladdened to hear him laugh. "If you were after an ego boost, you came to the wrong place, mate."

"As if I would," he agreed, "when I can have you bring me down to earth." There was a weird 'ting' in the background. "What was that, love?"

Shuffling could be heard. "Oh, I've got an email. Hang on a tick…" She then gasped. "It's from Roderick."

"My cousin Roderick?" he queried. "No doubt it's about another one of his fancy charity gigs."

"We would like to invite you…," she read out for him to hear, and then suddenly halted. After a pause, she informed him, "It's black tie, for Children In Need. You're not going to like this though. He wants me to go with him, as his date."

Gritting his teeth, he ground out, "If you want to go I won't try and stop you. And you're right, I don't like it, but you should get the chance to dress up and be even more beautiful."

"Flatterer!" she accused him. "Anybody would think you were trying to chat me up."

"Aren't I succeeding?" he wondered, glad they could be so at ease with each other for a change. "Can we get together and discuss things alone before we go to Martha's wedding?"

"I suppose so. Now go to sleep, John," she softly ordered him. "We can talk later."

"It still feels odd to try and sleep here without you by me in the bed," he confided.

"It was your choice," she reminded him. "You left me; not the other way around."

"I did. Doesn't that say what a stupid arse I am," he sighed. "Goodnight Donna. Love you."

"Geroff with you!" she giggled. "Goodnight, and I'll see you soon."

Both of them settled down to sleep feeling a lot better about their situation because hope had returned.

~o~

It had been a slightly fraught shopping trip with Jenny and Ben, trying to choose a wedding gift for them to take (her own had been purchased a while back) and get last minute additions to their wedding outfits. They had both whined after a while how tired they were. So she had sent them off to grab a table in the coffee shop and order some drinks while she took the opportunity to quickly peruse the dresses on offer, in order to check a price. As she rifled through a particular dress rack a mid-tone feminine voice uttered the words, "Hello Donna. Remember me?"

Not recognising who it could be, she turned to consider the tall, broad woman smiling nervously at her. "I don't," she started to say but then realised that the face was extremely familiar. "Roman? Is it really you?" she wondered with delight. The woman nodded so she offered a hug. "This seems to be my week for reunions. How are you? You've changed quite a bit since we last spoke. I see you went through with it. My you are a sight for sore eyes!"

"It's 'Romana' now," the woman informed her. "I hope you don't mind me coming over to say hello."

"Of course I don't," Donna insisted. "I was about to join my two scallywags for coffee. Why don't you come with me to see them and join us? We can do some proper catching up."

"I'm not sure," Romana hesitated, her bravado fading.

Noting her old friend's shyness, Donna encouraged her with, "Oh please do. I want to show them off to you. And I'll text them to buy you a fresh coffee too if you like."

"Alright then," Romana relented.

As they walked Donna quickly texted: 'Bringing an old face to see you again. Please buy another coffee. Milk. One sugar.' _Expect one big surprise,_ she silently added.

By the time they reached the snack bar Jenny and Ben were sitting there with four hot coffees in front of them and matching cookies on plates. "Ben insisted we needed a cookie with our drinks," Jenny apologetically explained as Donna walked up to their table.

"That's fine," Donna answered. "I want you to meet a blast from the past, as it were. Do you remember Romana Trelundar from your dad's band?"

"Of course!" Both siblings grinned warmly at their visitor. _Wow! He looks different,_ Jenny commented to her brother._I'd have never recognised her._

"I didn't sugar your coffee just in case. I know how upset you women can get about these things," Ben added, pushing one of the mugs towards Romana.

She gratefully smiled back as she sat down. "Are you saying I need to lose weight," she teased.

"Well..," he hesitated, in a manner very familiar to her from being a member of The Time Lords. "Let's just say once bitten twice shy."

"Isn't he like the Doctor," Romana commented. She then sadly said to Donna, "Talking of him, I saw in the paper about your split. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks." She sighed deeply. "It was inevitable I suppose. So much has changed since I last saw you, at the funeral. It must be a good ten years. I'm so glad you took the risk and went for what you wanted."

Romana wryly commented, "Me too. Time has flown."

"Whose funeral was that, Mum?" Jenny asked.

"Harry's. Harold Saxon." Donna tried not tear up as she thought about it. "Such a sad affair. After those deaths your dad went weird, and things were never the same again. It sort of broke him."

"There was more than one?" Romana queried.

"Right, you didn't know. We had another one; the Doctor's young assistant, Adric. Do you remember him? It was all very sudden. Leukaemia. Anyway, it happened just before Harry died. They say grief either makes you closer or tears you apart. These two were boarders so they were safe, I buried myself in charity work and John... He just drifted for a while until the book publishers picked him up."

Both Ben and Jenny shared a puzzled glance. _I don't remember that._

"You were both at school," Donna continued, "doing well, so I didn't bother you with the details at the time. The band ended with Harry's death, and things moved on."

"I don't understand," Jenny admitted, feeling miffed they'd been hidden from certain facts. "What happened to Dad?"

A nod from Donna gave Romana permission to reveal all. "Harry died from a gunshot wound. You probably know that it was never clearly determined whether it was accidentally or deliberately self-inflicted. What you probably don't know is that it was your dad who found him first. When I got to the scene, the Doctor was cradling Harry in his arms, begging him not to be dead. I can tell you, it still affects me, even talking about it now."

Ben stared at his mum in understanding. "So that's when Dad went loop, wanting to travel the world and conquer everything. He didn't have the band anymore so he went searching for something else."

"He did. Fortunately the book deal gave him a purpose to work," she supplied. "I tried to be there for him but I wasn't enough. All he saw was the old days, things lost or now unwanted. It was my fault he left."

"Now don't go blaming yourself," Romana consoled her, placing a comforting hand over hers. "At least you stopped him from turning to drugs like Lucy did."

"True," Donna agreed. "Her death was tragic."

"So all this stuff with Dad is guilt?" Jenny testily pondered. "I'm supposed to forgive him for running off with someone young enough to be my sister and ruining our lives purely because he misses his friend?!"

"They were childhood best friends, from junior school. They'd been together for such a long time," Donna reasoned. "It could be dismissed as a mid-life crisis, but it goes deeper than that. You don't understand."

"Too right I don't understand," Jenny tearfully argued. "Shouldn't we have been just as important? Good grief, Mum! You were teenage sweethearts, married for over twenty years. Doesn't that count too?" She stood then, emotions raging through her. "I can't cope with you giving him the benefit of the doubt all the time, letting him get away with neglecting us. I need... to get away from you."

With that she rushed off.

"Jenny!" Donna called after her as she rose to give chase.

"I'll go, Mum," Ben reassured her. "You know how hot tempered she can get. She doesn't mean it. Not really." Planting a quick kiss on her cheek, he raced to find and console his sister.

"What a wonderful reunion we're having," Donna observed, trying to lighten the mood.

"Sorry for causing it," Romana said, wrapping a comforting arm around her old friend and ally. "I shouldn't have walked up to you."

Donna leaned gratefully into the embrace. "Don't be daft. It's wonderful to see you again. And we needed to say those things. I just wish we hadn't done so in the middle of Selfridges."

"Ah, well, you always did pick the best shops," Romana remarked, gaining the smile she was hoping for. "You tell that husband of yours if he doesn't get his act together soon I shall go to The Sun and give them a sex scandal exclusive, involving him and me. That'd give him something to be scared of. I can imagine the headline now. A Noble Transgender Affair."

Donna laughed despite herself. "You've always had a wicked sense of humour. God I've missed you. Don't leave me again."

"I promise," Romana was delighted to provide. She had been so frightened of approaching this woman, and now she wondered why she had felt that way for such a long time. It was like coming in from the wilderness.

~o~


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** sorry about the delay in getting this posted but I've had another bad bout since we got home from Germany.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Seven<strong>

.

The Doctor was utterly bored to tears. It was a Saturday evening and he was stuck sat in Jackie's flat, watching bubble gum TV whilst Rose reclined on the settee, doing her very best to be as irritating as possible.

She had wanted him to sit and cuddle her on the sofa next to her, but there was no way he would sit and do any of that in front of Jackie! Did she think he was on a suicide mission? So he was sat near her in an armchair, which was just as drab as the rest of the three piece suite. He tried not to sneer at the quality and condition of it, he really did, but he was used to far better home comforts than this; and the difference was beginning to get on his nerves.

And to top it all, Jackie was flicking through the channels desperately searching for ITV 3 or whatever piece of dross she normally watched, and his temper was rising. Why couldn't she just memorise the numbers like normal people did?! Or were his family that different in being able to remember such simple things?

Without realising it, he grunted with annoyance; and Rose shot him an evil glare for doing it. It wasn't his fault, was it? It had been completely involuntary.

By sheer accident, Jackie landed on BBC 4 and some classical music concert. She wavered as she tried to decide whether to leave it be or not. All the pretty colours of the decorated concert hall fascinated her.

"Oh look!" she cried as a professional looking handsome man in full evening suit appeared on the screen. "He looks just like you, Doctor, when you wear your glasses."

"Are you related to him, Doctor?" Rose asked.

"Just a bit," he confirmed. "He's my cousin Roderick."

The BBC announcer proclaimed, "And now Roderick Peterson will make his way to the platform, accompanied by his lovely lady friend."

"Who's that?" Jackie wondered, all agog. "Wow! She's pretty. I wish I could get away with a dress like that."

On the screen, to the Doctor's horror, was Donna clad in a very revealing and extremely fetching black formal dress that swept over, pushed up, and enhanced all her assets. "Well…," he stammered as he felt himself become suddenly VERY hot under the collar. If he could, he would have ripped it off her… I mean, he would have taken his shirt off.

"Look at his wife, Rose. The one with that Roderick fella. Now there is a real lady," Jackie gushed on.

Rose nodded her approval. "There's something really familiar about her. I feel sure I've seen her somewhere."

The Doctor couldn't stand it any longer. "You have. She's MY wife, not Roderick's."

"That's Donna?" Jackie queried as she moved nearer to peer at the screen. "Ooh err!"

"What d'you think of her, Mum?" Rose asked as she tried to become more interested in this woman who owned everything she wanted in life. Hopefully her mother would be equally disapproving.

But Jackie was in a world of her own, and almost pushed her nose up against the TV screen, so enthralled was she. "Look at her, Rose. That dress is dead posh. Must have cost a few bob, don't you think. How old is your wife, Doctor?"

Suddenly finding himself expected to include himself in this conversation, the Doctor shook himself out of his self-indulgent thoughts. Ones that had gained a flight of fancy as he envisioned how he could possibly remove that black dress and gain all sorts of delights. "She must be about the same age as you, Jackie. We celebrated her fortieth birthday a short while ago." Donna would probably kill him for divulging her age, but then again, she'd probably never know about this little indiscretion.

"Don't forget that's the same age as you too," Jackie pointed out, still staring at the screen as Donna could be seen to be escorted to a plush seat, given a quick kiss on the cheek, and then left with a beaming smile on her face as Roderick climbed up to the podium.

The Doctor fidgeted in his seat and adjusted his collar. He did not approve of his cousin doing that to his wife, but he was in no position to complain.

"Your Donna looks amazing for her age," Jackie continued to comment when he really wished she would shut up about it. "How lucky is that, going to all them concerts, wearing fancy clothes, and going out with such a fine gentleman. Yes, I really envy her." Jackie then sighed wistfully.

"No you wouldn't, Mum," Rose remarked. "I've met her and she's nothing like that, except she did lord it over me a bit and bossed me about."

"Did she?" Jackie's protective hackles began to rise. "If she touches you in any shape or form, I'll have her guts for garters."

"She'd deserve it," Rose petulantly added.

"Excuse me, but Donna is nothing like that," the Doctor inserted into their conversation. "All she did was assist you in getting cleaned up after you were covered in all that muck and manure. Then she supervised you getting a clean outfit, and finally she cooked us a wonderful meal when she needn't have done any of that. And for the record, she kindly agreed to accompany my cousin Roderick when he asked her at the last minute, because it is a charity event. She did not do so because she wanted to be Lady Bountiful, but her status as Lady Gallifreyan means she must maintain a standing; a role she has never baulked from doing, and carries out with grace. As you can see on your television screen."

Jackie was flabbergasted. "You mean she's a real actual lady? And my Rose was treated by her with such kindness. Well I never! Did you hear that, Rose?" She then accused her daughter, "You never said his missus is a Lady Somebody-or-other. That's royalty, that is."

It crossed the Doctor's mind that maybe he shouldn't point out who the person close to royalty really was in this situation. His father had hated all that stuff.

Rose merely waved her hand dismissively. "Something was said about it when we had lunch in that posh people's club the other week. Back when I met the Doctor's son and daughter. Anyway, I wasn't really paying attention."

"Oh yes, you did mention them," Jackie confirmed. "How old are they; your two, Doctor?"

"Jenny is twenty, almost twenty-one, and Ben is nineteen," the Doctor proudly supplied, accompanied by a cheerful grin.

"How old?!" Jackie looked stunned at the news. "I got the impression they were a lot younger. Blimey, you must have been a mere kid when you met your wife."

"Well…" He gave his neck a comforting rub. "Some would say nineteen isn't all that old for eloping together."

"I would," Jackie remarked. "Nineteen is far too young. But then you know my feelings about that from when Rose burst in here and told me you two were engaged. Anyway… What on earth did your parents say?"

"Mine didn't say a lot, but hers were a bit more verbal. A bit like you, actually," he admitted. "Donna and I saw each other and just knew within hours that it was right. I think my parents were glad to see what a stabilising influence she had on me, seeing as I was gaining success with our band then, and the others had started to go off the rails a bit. They saw that she was perfect for me. She's always stopped me from doing stupid stuff and killing myself."

"She won't anymore," Jackie reasoned. "That'll be Rose's job soon. What will your Donna do with herself after the divorce?"

"I'm not quite sure," he slowly replied as various unwanted images formed in his head. Ones where Donna was flanked by several potential suitors paying her close attention, as if she were in some music video and they were her backup dancers. Perhaps he had warded all her potential suitors off over the years almost as much as she had deterred unwanted attention for him? "Probably more of her charity work," he heard himself lamely add.

Rose had worked herself up to comment when Jackie suddenly squealed again with excitement, pointing at the image on the television. "There she is! Oh I'd love to meet her. Is there any way that I could, do you think?"

"Why would you even want to?" Rose asked; a pout heavy on her face.

"What d'you mean why would I? It's not every day you get the chance to meet a real lady, one that's got looks and class. Nothing against you, Rose, but you could never be like that."

"Yes I could!" Rose hotly defended herself. "Just because I come from a council estate don't mean I can't improve myself."

"It'd take an awful lot of work to be that classy; like in that film Miss Congeniality," Jackie answered. "Where's Michael Caine when you need him."

"Mum! Don't be mean!" Rose complained.

"I'm not being mean," Jackie insisted. "Honest I'm not. I'm just being realistic. It takes years to get all that ladyship stuff right."

Rose crossed her arms across her chest and grouched, "It's a good job I've got plenty of time then." She then made the mistake of muttering under her breath, "The sainted Donna has had hundreds of years to be like that."

"Rose!" the Doctor growled at her in warning.

She huffed even more, in response. "If she still means so much to you, perhaps we ought to call this engagement off so that you can run back to her like a good little boy."

That riled him more than she could know. "There is nothing wrong with caring about the mother of my children, but if you are really insistent about it, then the engagement can easily be cancelled." He then stood to leave.

"Don't go!" Rose cried out in fear, and desperately reached for his hand. "Don't leave me. I'm sorry. I'm just feeling all put out because of this stupid broken leg and not being able to travel about with you as usual. Isn't that so, Mum?"

"It is," Jackie readily agreed in support of her only child. "Being put out can turn her into a right little cow."

Keeping his expression still stern, the Doctor mentally conceded that that could be the reason for Rose's behaviour. "Fair enough," he noted, bobbing his head sideways. "But anymore of this nonsense and you can consider yourself formally removed from our engagement. It's getting late, so I think it best that I head for home, and let us all think about this in our own time. Good night."

There were despondent replies from both Rose and her mother, who saw him out. Jackie was most annoyed with her daughter when she returned.

"You mark my words; you'll drive him away with your silly jealous talk," she warned Rose. "So button it in future and bide your tongue, otherwise you'll end up on your ownsome, if you're not careful."

With great reluctance, Rose agreed she would either have to play along with his sudden attack of the guilts towards his wife or she risked losing everything; including the man she loved.

~o~

Little did she know that that guilt trip was kicking in big time once he had left Jackie's flat in the Powell Estate and sat in his car. Bringing out his mobile phone, he texted Donna's number: 'Can we talk again tonight? Let me know when you are home in bed. Doc xxx'

To his surprise, he received an answering text a mere few minutes later rather than hours, as he had expected. It read: 'Am a bit busy to talk at the moment but will let you know ASAP late tonight. Careful, this could get to be a habit ;) xx'

Feeling extremely relieved and pleased, he texted back: 'Some habits are worth forming xxx'

'Habits are things nuns wear. And knowing your kink for that outfit I shouldn't have mentioned it. Especially if black fishnet stockings are worn underneath it with a matching suspender belt and knickers.'

'Minx! Are you trying to kill me with that fantasy?' he texted back.

A reply from her came quite rapidly: 'Let's be honest it would save me some divorce legal fees. Now let me listen to this music and I will talk to you later. Don't do anything I wouldn't do while you wait.'

There was only one way he could answer that: 'I can hardly contain myself.'

He chuckled to himself and then drove off towards home to his own flat across town. In an hour or so he had a telephone date, and the thought left him feeling excited anticipation for reasons he'd rather not face just yet.

~o~


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the delay in posting this - it's been a bad few days again - and I totally made up the place I've called Wicket House here.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Eight<strong>

.

The Doctor hadn't really been waiting desperately for Donna to text him the words: 'I'm here in bed.' No, not really. Maybe. Just a bit. But he would have denied it anyway. He would have especially denied then phoning her before she could draw breath, let alone put her phone down to wait.

She had laughed to herself as the ringtone filled the air in her bedroom. Trust him! "Hello. If you want to talk to your soon to be ex-wife, don't press number one now. If you wish to discuss children, don't press number two. If you are mad enough to want to talk to my mother, don't press number three now. And for all other hare-brained schemes, don't press number four now. To return to the main menu, there is a McDonalds a short drive away."

"I take it your date with Roderick went well tonight," he commented with some amusement.

He laughed even more when she chided, "You forgot to not press a number!"

"Oops! Sorry. I'm not pressing two, although I suppose I ought to not press one. Even though that one is slightly debatable," he confessed. "I er... I need to tell you something; tonight I threatened to call off the engagement."

"Oh dear, trouble in paradise. Such a shame," she mocked. "What did you forget to do? Not pick up the latest One Direction CD or something?"

"Probably," he allowed. "I don't understand it, personally. But then I suppose I'm not meant to."

"Ah, it makes your heart bleed," she sympathised. Well, it would have sounded like sympathy if she had used the right tone, or used the right words, rather than ones that scorned him instead.

But he was happy enough to be teased in such a way. "That's what I love about you; you're all heart. Talking of being all something, I saw you on the television tonight, during Roderick's concert."

"Did you? What did you think of it?"

"The dress was stunning on you. It reached parts of me other outfits do not," he complimented.

"Thanks," she acknowledged with some embarrassment, "but I was talking about the concert itself rather than my get up."

"Doesn't matter," he smoothly replied. "I was only looking at you. Your dress still wins all the prizes, as far as I'm concerned. Although I'd love to win the prize held beneath it."

"You lying sod," she accused him. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that you were ogling me when you have love's young dream… I mean some nymphet at your beck and call to cater for all your fantasies? Because I don't believe you for a minute."

"It's true," he insisted. And he then closed his eyes; concentrating hard on their shared bond. An emotional pulse opened between them. "Can you feel how true it is yet?" he practically purred at her.

There was a familiar warm tingling sensation low in her body. As the sensation intensified she asked, somewhat breathily, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he rapidly denied with a total lack of innocence. "Just letting you know how you made me feel seeing you in that dress."

"Other people tend to use words; you know, actual real ones that come out of their mouths," she grumbled. Any moment now she was likely to amorously groan, and that'd be really shaming!

"And some of us don't need to when there are other ways of sharing, except it wouldn't necessarily be via my mouth that anything would come out," he continued to purr seductively. "I'd even give you first choice which method I'd use."

"Are you being deliberately saucy with me?" she managed to ask as whatever he was doing caused her to suck in a breath.

"It is deliberate, but its sauciness is debatable," he admitted. "Oh Donna!" he then groaned. "Do you even know what you do to me? We need to get together properly and arrange further discussions."

Steeling herself to resist his hypnotic onslaught, she pushed out, "Do I know? Somehow I do, since you moved out to chase after a young girl and your midlife crisis away." The sensation immediately and abruptly stopped. Instead, a wave of disgust hit her. "Don't go all sulky on me. Be honest; if you hadn't wanted to suddenly regain a sense of your youth, you'd be here in bed with me doing all this for real."

"I have offered you that opportunity each time I've seen you recently, and every time you have turned me down, so I hardly see how that makes me into some sad middle aged man," he indignantly stated.

"Oh I think you've got that bit covered, what with the sudden need for a girlfriend half your age, moving into your own flat away from me, and I'm waiting to hear about the buying of a sports car for you get the hat trick," she countered. "Be honest with yourself and admit it for once. You are officially middle aged."

All the previous sexy seductive stuff hastily receded from her mind to be instantly replaced by a sulk. "If that's the way you want to play it," he began to remark, "then fine, we will."

"She really is rubbing off onto you, and not in a good way," Donna commented. "Perhaps we ought to get back to business. You wanted to discuss the children in person. Where were you thinking?"

This whole conversation had started so well and now it was all going down a track he wasn't remotely happy with. "Since the weather forecast is good for the next couple of days, I thought perhaps somewhere with some parkland and a decent tearoom."

Nodding her agreement, she suggested, "How about the National Trust place, or your cousin Pier's estate house?"

"I'm sure Jackie would be absolutely thrilled if Rose socialised with Lord Pomfrey but I'm keeping that side of my family rather hush hush for the time being," he confessed. "Fortunately Rose has forgotten you made some comment about losing your title after the divorce."

"So they don't know you are really Lord Gallifreyan?" she queried and failed to hold back her amused laughter. "You inverted snob, you!"

He has to concede it was rather amusing when you looked at it. "I'm a man of the people."

"There are some who'd question the man part," she teased. "Anyway, how about we compromise and go to Wicket House? Say three o'clock tomorrow."

"That would suit me fine," he happily agreed. "Is it a 'bring bottle and bird' sort of thing?" he then joked.

"Well, you'll need some bottle, and no doubt your little blonde bird will follow you there," she reasoned. "I on the other hand might get a man in for the job."

His jealous ire was instantaneous. "Who are you planning on bringing?"

Trying out her best villainous voice on him, she retorted, "Wouldn't you like to know! I'll see you at three. Night!"

~o~

Things went a bit frosty from the off. The Doctor strode into the entrance hall of Wicket House and saw Donna standing at the bottom of the ornate wooden staircase with his cousin Roderick. They formally shook hands in greeting; he introduced Rose to him, and then politely asked to have a brief word in private with Donna.

Saying nothing, he wrapped her arm around his and then led her out towards the carefully tended grounds and sumptuous gardens. But as soon as they had stepped outside the main entrance doors and stood outside, he hissed, "Why is Roderick here?"

"I could ask the same thing seeing as you've brought Rose with you," Donna retorted. "He is here because he offered to come, which I personally think is very nice of him, and he's asked me to attend some function at the Savoy afterwards with him."

"He's asked you out on another date!" the Doctor near exploded, and then caught himself in time from showing himself up. "Sorry, I'm so sorry. As you said before, it's none of my business if you want to go to a fancy do with him."

"It certainly isn't, beyond him being your cousin," she reminded him, jabbing a finger in his direction. "Although I will admit our last outing worked out very well."

He clicked his teeth together before evenly enunciating, "I know. We saw you on the television as you both arrived."

"So you said," she responded with glee. Well, it wasn't often she got to be on the telly, especially when she knew she looked okay. Many people had commented on her appearance in nice terms. "What did you really think of it? Of the concert, I mean."

To her surprise the Doctor leaned in close to confide, "As I also said last night, I thought you looked gorgeous in that black dress. Is it new? I can't say that I've seen it before, but I'd love to see you wearing it again."

His soft, silky and seductive tones sent a warming sensation through her body. "What, that old thing? It was just something I bought ages ago and found in the back of the wardrobe."

"Perhaps I ought to come into the back of your wardrobe with you and see what else we can find." He then added in a playful eyebrow waggle.

"Geroff!" she chided, giving his arm a muted slap. "What have I told you about trying out your blarney on me?"

"I thought I'd been given full permission," he continued to schmooze her. "And if we find you another little revealing number then the effort would be all worthwhile."

That wasn't all he was risking in that instance because this was a leading moment between them; parts of his body were insistent about it being so. In response, he leaned ever closer, intent on pressing their lips seductively together. But it was not to be, and a distinctive young voice cut through their romantic liaison like a rusty chainsaw.

"Doctor! How long are we going to be?" Rose deliberately cried.

He sighed heavily. She must have hobbled out after him on her crutches as soon as they'd walked out the door. _Why is this no surprise? _he asked Donna.

_Because she's a Klingon,_ she naughtily suggested; and they both shared an amused glance.

"Yes, Rose, what did you want me for?" he turned to ask.

"I er…" She leaned heavily on her crutches and cast an anxious glance towards Donna. "I just wanted to know how much longer we're going to be here."

"Why? Do you have a pressing appointment, Rose?" the Doctor mocked her. "If you do, I'm sure Donna and I can work this out between us and you can go wherever you need to go."

Fury blazed through Rose. "No, there's nowhere else I need to go at this precise moment. In fact I'd say I was needed right here."

"In that case, make yourself useful, would you please, Rose? I'm sure we could all do with a cup of tea." He deliberately smiled innocently and sweetly at her. "What do you say, Donna?"

"Oh yes! I'd love a cup and I'm sure Roderick would too," Donna responded with as much enthusiasm as she could rustle up. This was fun! "But do make sure you get him an Assam or an Earl Grey, as he is very precious and particular about his tea."

The Doctor nodded his agreement to this statement when Rose gawped at him in disbelief. "His tastes are very refined."

From what she had seen of Roderick, Rose could easily believe it. All he'd done so far was look her up and down, glared at her attire and then sneered before turning his attention solely onto his iPhone. It had been as if she wasn't sitting in the same room as him for most of the time; not that she has stayed very long on her seat because she had risen and followed the Doctor within minutes. Getting out of the grand house and to him had taken her a time. The problem was, part of her felt Roderick would have been bossing her about like a servant given half a chance. And to think her mum had thought he looked extremely distinguished on the telly. Yeah, she could keep him, she thought; and then returned her attention to the married couple in front of her.

Unable to think of a suitable biting response, Rose muttered petulantly, "Okay, I'll go and get him some bloody tea!" Hobbling resentfully toward the house, she went back to her previous occupation of scowling at her own phone before going in search of someone to provide some tea. 'There must be unintelligent life somewhere around here,' she said to herself.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** some of you might be pleased to know that I've started the DVD extra for this.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Nine<strong>

.

On re-entering Wicket House, Rose advanced on Roderick, and queried, "Tea?"

He put down his iPhone and regarded his cousin's mistress with disdain and some confusion. "Are you merely stating letters of the alphabet in my direction, or are you offering me a beverage?"

"Neither," she stated. "I wanted to know where you get tea."

Sighing in exasperation, he continued to subtly mock her in his usual fashion by saying, "I will assume that you do not require a lecture on the growth, manufacture and acquisition of tea, or my personal consumer details of the product, but rather where in the vicinity tea may be purchased."

Rose frowned. You what? There were far too many words in that answer. "Yes, that one; the last one," she warily said.

"Good!" Roderick pocketed his phone and slyly grinned. "There is an excellent tearoom out through the front entrance doors and around to the right." With a fluid movement, he stood and coolly peered down at her, as she was almost a foot shorter than him. "Since it is nearing four o'clock, I shall go and indulge in a cup. In fact I shall purchase us all one. You may follow." He then immediately strode away.

"Here, hang on!" she yelled after him. "You could at least help me." All he did was nod his head smugly at her before disappearing out of the door. "Stuck up bloody snob," she muttered to no one in particular, and then hobbled in his wake.

~o~

"Well?" Donna asked the Doctor once they were alone again in the gardens. "Have you any particular demands? And I mean about the house and other properties, before you get saucy again."

"No, I have nothing really beyond the reasonable," he admitted; and started to lead them towards the tea room. "I'd like to remain in contact with you and the children because I hate it when dads become these ghosts from the past." He thought for a moment or two, and added, "I'll keep my earnings from now onwards and I'll give you everything else, the house, the flat and the cottage to you; with the proviso that I live in the flat for the time being until I can find somewhere that doesn't… well, doesn't lead back to you, if I'm honest. Too many memories. Anyway, does that seem fair?"

"More than I was expecting," she granted. "I was anticipating all sorts of arguments, and weird demands."

"I've already done you enough damage; it's almost unforgiveable what I've done to us. As for handing over the properties..." A wicked grin spread across his face. "Rose will be livid when she finds out, but I can weather that storm."

"Are you sure? Her rattle will be well and truly thrown out of her pram," Donna reasoned. "No doubt I'll get the blame for that."

He took a hold of both her hands and sincerely told her, "I mean it, love. All those years of me touring with the band, you looking after our two children and taking all the responsibility of the money I earned, needs to be taken into consideration. When you look at how Harkie blew almost all his money, and here I am with a healthy bank account, assets, and a wonderful home; and all because of you. I've had time to think about it lately. Without you being there for me all these years, I'd have been a mess."

Fine words from him, but what relevance would they have in the future? "Am I reading this right and Rose will take over all your finances from now on?" she asked.

"Good grief, no!" he exclaimed in horror. "All that would be far too much for her to take on. No, I'll be employing someone else if you don't still want the job."

"But, John…," she began to protest, mainly out of politeness.

Instead, he squeezed her hands. "I trust you. First and foremost you have always been my best friend."

"And you're not worried about me diddling you out of money?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. Why would you? It's not in your nature. That's another reason why I love you."

Keeping hold of one hand in his, he started to walk them along again across the gravelly footpath.

"Are you sure it isn't in my nature to react in revenge against you out of spite? Shame the not being young part is now getting in the way," she remarked.

"You wouldn't be so spiteful; and your age has nothing to do with my recent behaviour. There has been nothing you've done wrong. The fault is all mine," he insisted. "My head was turned, and like an idiot I followed."

"What exactly does that mean?" she wondered. Was he hinting at something else? Yes, she may be an idiot for still loving him, but any leeway she gave him in the future depended upon how regretful he was.

Hesitating, he opened his mouth to make a confession, and would have laid all his cards on the table, as it were, but they had entered the tea room by now and Roderick appeared holding a tea tray aloft. Rose was looking particularly tired and strained as she sat waiting for her refreshment.

"I bring tea," he announced, placing it down onto a table in front of them all, "and then we really ought to leave, Donna. The reception cannot start without us."

Giving the Doctor an apologetic smile, Donna took her proffered cup and sipped it thoughtfully as she sat down.

~o~

Once they were in the car and well on their way towards the Savoy charity auction, Donna risked asking her companion, "What did you think of Rose?"

"Vile little creature," Roderick hurriedly replied. "She has the manners of a log, made no attempt to talk to me, so I had to revert to the company of my iPhone. A most peculiar girl."

That all sounded familiar; and Roderick was a first class snob at the best of times. "In some respects I feel sorry for her being left with you on her own. So you weren't impressed then."

"That hardly covers it," he responded. "Does she have any other interests beyond mooning over John? I wonder. She's just the sort Piers would have a field day complaining about."

"Piers invited me over to some open day at his estate," she airily stated. "Do you think I should go?"

"Honestly? No," Roderick advised. "I doubt he is out to genuinely capture your interest. Dad was sure his loathing of women is a cover for his sexuality. Not that he has ever publicly propositioned his aide, Peters; but I wouldn't put it passed him."

"Then why ask me?" she wondered.

"Why indeed." He nodded to himself in thought. "Probably to rile John. Piers has always assumed some sort of jealous rivalry existed between them. Personally, I blame them sharing the same piano teacher. Things were never the same after that."

Their arrival at the Savoy put paid to their conversational topic after that, and they were both swept in through the doors to discuss charity items instead. There was going to be an auction of celebrity donations to raise much needed funds. This was a part of her duties that Donna adored carrying out, and she silently wished for it to continue for as long as possible.

Although she did giggle to herself when she saw Maxine from The Sun interviewing a few people. Now, should she pave the way and mention Romana? Maybe not, for the time being.

"Hello Lady Gallifreyan!" Maxine exuberantly greeted her, exchanging those weird air kisses that never touch your face. "How do you think the charity auction is going?"

"Swimmingly, from what I can tell," Donna pleasantly responded. "We hope to raise an enormous amount of money for the children."

"A little birdy tells me that Sir Piers has personally requested your company for his open day charity event on the Pomfrey estate," Maxine gleefully enquired. "Does this mean you might be exchanging one Ladyship title for another in the near future, and become Lady Pomfrey?"

Donna laughed in sheer merriment. "I have only had the one invitation so far; I think we'd be getting a little ahead of ourselves to assume anything more than that."

"But it is rare for Sir Piers to send out personal invites," Maxine persisted. "You must feel honoured for being singled out."

"Piers is a law unto himself, as you well know," Donna retorted; "and despite all our charitable work, our paths hardly ever cross."

"He obviously feels the need to treat himself to your organisational skills," Maxine argued. "And if we take into account your television appearance the other night, who can blame him?"

There was no way to answer that except with modest laughter. "That is nice of you to say, Maxine," Donna gracefully answered. "And who knows what the future will bring? If the charity benefits, then I am more than willing to participate in his open day."

"I also heard that Sir Piers is short of a volunteer or two. Will you be helping him with that?" Maxine cheekily wondered.

"Is he?" Donna asked with interest. "Then I think I might have just the answer for him. Thank you, Maxine!" She then smiled brightly at the reporter and went on her way to speak to someone else.

~o~

"Thanks for the lift, Martha," Ben politely acknowledged as he went to climb into the front passenger seat of her car and strapped himself in. "I could have got to Dad's by bus easily enough, but I appreciate this."

"You're very welcome," she answered, smiling fondly at him. "I don't get to see you or your mum very often these days. How is she?"

"She's sort of alright," he confessed, watching the passing scenery. "You know how it is. What with Dad being a stupid git at the moment and all that."

"Perhaps you ought to tell him how you feel," Martha suggested. "He can go off into his own little selfish world far too easily."

"Yeah," he agreed, and turned his head to closely regard her. "He was a prat with you too, wasn't he? In fact I thought he was awful."

She blushed. "Thank you for saying that. I mean, in some ways he was right; he should have tried to discourage me back then. Having a crush on a married man is never the wisest choice."

"None of us have ever held that against you," he reassured. "Mum knew what he felt at all times, so she wasn't worried. That all changed when Rose appeared on the scene." He then took in a steadying breath for encouragement. "Can I ask you something, since you've sort of been there; why do you think he chose to go off after Rose? I just don't understand it."

"I wish I knew," Martha admitted. "You'll have to ask him yourself in order to find out; you really should."

"I know," he despondently replied, and looked sullen. "In a way I don't want to find out."

"It's always best to know the truth rather than fret over possible answers," she countered, feeling so sorry for him. They soon pulled up outside the Doctor's block of flats so she continued, "Here's your chance, Ben, to get all the answers to those questions in your head. When my dad went off with another woman I wanted to wring his neck whilst heal the whole family, so I know what you are going through. If you need a listening ear, I'm here for you; and let me know how you get on with your dad."

"I will," he promised as he extracted his long limbs from the confines of her small car. "Thanks again, Martha!"

With a cheery wave she was off and he was left standing on the pavement. Right, he was going to do this, he told himself; get some real answers and not those smarmy 'you are too young to understand' ones his dad was wont to offer. Squaring his shoulders, he stormed towards the front doors and any impending argument.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** most of this is already written but extra scenes keep jumping in my head.

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><p><strong>Part Ten<strong>

.

"You came!" the Doctor cheerfully greeted his son and showed him into the flat. "Shhh! Come into the kitchen, and try to be quiet because Rose is lying down having a nap. Walking around Wicket Hall wore her out"

Ben's courage was still holding out when he stood in his father's kitchen minutes later. The whole place was a mess! It wasn't as bad as some student digs Ben had found himself in as a guest but, sneering at it all, it was far from what he expected of his parents.

"Sorry about this," the Doctor had apologised as he hastily rearranged a few things, "but Harkie tends to forget to clear up after himself."

"So I see," Ben remarked as he sipped a mug of coffee and tried his hardest not to notice. Now, how to swing the conversation onto what he wanted to know?

The warming caffeine had just hit his palate when the Doctor suddenly asked, "What's up? You seem a bit off today. Has Martha upset you on the way here with all her talk about weddings?"

It was a teasing question but it gave Ben the perfect lead in. "Not quite. I'm not upset about _her_ wedding, since her and Mickey seem so right together. No, that isn't it."

"Then what is it?" the Doctor gently asked. "Has a girl… or a boy…? And don't look at me like that; it could be! How do I know these days? Lots of people have come out of the closet. Anyway, has anyone in particular caused you heartache?"

Ben smiled in amusement. "If I was gay you'd have known by now, but for the record, no there isn't anyone, as such. But I do have questions."

"Oh dear, this sounds serious," the Doctor proclaimed. "We'd better go and sit more comfortably to discuss this."

"I'm fine here," Ben assured him, and leant back against the worktop whilst avoiding a gruesome stain as he did so, to get a more comfortable position. "I wanted to ask something, but I'm not sure you'll approve of me asking it."

"I won't know until you do," the Doctor reasoned. His mind was gearing itself up to be asked a personal, sex related question. "Go on then."

"Dad, I… I want to know, why did you leave Mum and go off with Rose; exactly why." Ben then blushed in case it was sexual too.

Slightly stunned, the Doctor tried to put it into words. "First, I want you to know that I have remained physically faithful in the sex department to your mother, and she for me. We've not had any affairs over the years, so you can cross that off your list. The thing is, we erm; we just drifted apart, like many married couples do. It wasn't deliberate, honest. I've had to get used to your mum not being by my side as I've travelled about. That's why I took on Martha as my companion for a while." He gave a cough. "Anyway, I started to innocently travel with Rose and, I don't know; she flirted with me and it was nice. Having someone lovely like that being interested in me was flattering; it always has been. I can't put my finger on why it was different this time and I took the step of responding, but I did. You must admit, she is beautiful."

"True, but beauty takes lots of forms, and looks can fade," Ben remarked in irritation. "So Mum was right and all you cared about was getting someone younger to replace her with."

"No no no no, that isn't necessarily so," the Doctor defended himself. "Rose is sweet and innocent and a breath of fresh air."

"If you like that sort of thing," Ben murmured. "She does nothing for me. I've seen lots of girls like that in college; all flicky hair and heavily made up sultry eyes. It's all an act, and some poor sap falls for it every time."

"Maybe it is an act for them, but not for Rose," the Doctor insisted.

Anger properly flared in Ben. "And maybe you ought to grow up and be the adult around here! She is far too young for you. Sorry, Dad, but this is degrading for Jenny and me. It makes you a borderline paedophile and Jenny…" He abruptly turned his head away in shame.

"What's Jenny done?" the Doctor wondered as horror started to mount within him.

"Oh, like you care that she has had to fend off all sorts of insults and comments about you," Ben ground out through gritted teeth. Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, as only one or two people at college knew or had said anything so far. But you never knew when it could happen again; and his grandmother had certainly made her defamatory thoughts loud and clear. One thing he did know was how to make his dad react. "It's a good job Uncle Peter was there when Jenny got upset. He's been a real father figure for her when she needed one."

There was a strangled sob from the Doctor. "He's what!" The breath in his body stuttered for a bit longer. "How often has Peter been to see your mother lately?"

"Erm…" Ben had to think about that one carefully. "As far as I know it's been a few times since you asked Mum for the divorce, but we've only been home for the summer hols in the last week or so. Both me and Jenny thought it weird how these blokes have suddenly started asking Mum out. I mean, nobody came near or by beforehand. Well, Mum has always been determinedly nice about you in public; especially in front of Nan. God knows why she bothers."

"Who else?" the Doctor softly asked after a silent pause.

"Who else she's said nice stuff to, or who else has asked?" Ben tried to clarify.

"The latter."

"Let me see…" Ben scratched his head in thought, enjoying this moment of causing pain. "There was Shaun, Uncle Peter, Roderick, and someone else that I can't remember offhand. Oh! She also got this letter from your other cousin, Piers, I think, the other day, but it was a general invite thing. An open day or other. Why? Feeling a bit jealous, Dad? Because if you are, that's rather hypocritical of you considering you've gone off and got engaged to someone else when you aren't even divorced yet!"

The Doctor was facing raw anger now, and he tried to combat it by saying, "You don't understand!"

"Too right I don't! So why don't you go ahead and explain it to me," Ben goaded. "Try saying it in words of two syllables or less, if need be. What is so wrong with Mum?"

"Nothing. There is nothing wrong with her, it's all me!" the Doctor raged back. "She's almost too perfect, as usual," he continued in a much calmer voice. "But me…," he stated, hitting himself in the chest, "I'm this washed up ex-rocker has-been who doesn't even make music anymore. My childhood friend died, taking all of that creativity with him; everything we ever were. Leaving this poor pathetic excuse of a man behind. I was so depressed, hiding myself away in this flat at every opportunity; and then I met Rose. She brought sunshine back into my life. Before I even knew it, I had fallen in love and proposed. It all happened in a whirl."

"How wizard! You must be chuffed. What about now, having lived with this decision for a couple of months?" Ben pressed, still fuming. "Are you still serious about her, or has your midlife crisis started to wane at long last?"

Angered by the 'midlife crisis' slur, the Doctor wondered, "Why do you ask?"

"Because you obviously still feel something for Mum. Don't deny it. Can't you see how mad this is? It's ridiculous! The hugging on the settee, the midnight phone calls; and don't think that I wasn't aware you've been having secret conversations with her! If you love Rose so bloody much you want to break the family up, why in God's name are you flirting with Mum and wanting to get her into bed at every opportunity? It isn't the other way around, I've noticed. I've not even seen you cuddle Rose once beyond that hug in the hospital, let alone attempt to kiss her, but I've caught you several times trying it on with Mum."

Caught out, the Doctor merely responded, "Ah…!"

"Don't 'ah' me!" Ben was on a roll now and he wasn't going to stop until he had vented everything. "Are your feelings for Rose strong enough to continue being engaged, or are you only holding on out of some weird sense of duty?"

There was a deep sigh from his father. "I don't honestly know, Ben. I'm so sorry; but I still care deeply for your mother."

"Then for God's sake do us all a favour and break off the engagement!" Ben spat, adding in an irate digit stabbed towards his father in order to press home his point. "For all our sakes, _please_ give it serious thought and end this madness."

The Doctor nodded as the logic of his son's words hit him. "I will," he promised.

There was a crash at the kitchen door, and it swung open to reveal Rose stumbling through. "What was all the shouting about?"

"Oh, nothing," the Doctor insisted. "Did you have a nice nap? Go into the lounge and I'll make you a cup of tea."

She pulled a face. "Can I have a coffee instead? I've gone off tea a bit."

"Certainly," he pleasantly complied. "I'll bring it in to you in a minute."

Ben wanted to rant about his personal time with his dad being ruined by Rose's appearance, but plan B materialised in his head and a mischievous grin spread across his face. So he sauntered into the other room after Rose and pulled out his phone to ring his sister.

Pretending to ignore Rose watching the television, he spoke clearly once Jenny answered. "It's me. What you doing? I'm at Dad's making the most of this place while I can. You know why! I thought you did; I could have sworn you did. Anyway, Dad will lose the lot once the divorce goes through; he won't be worth a penny since all of it was signed over to Mum years ago."

Rose slightly turned her head and she feigned interest in the programme on the telly as she strained her hearing to listen to every word he said.

Good! The plan was working.

"Who you talking to?" the Doctor asked as he entered carrying two mugs of coffee.

"Jenny," Ben readily supplied. "I was just telling her about the flat and what'll happen to it."

"Oh yes," the Doctor sadly acknowledged as he remembered the conversation with Donna earlier that day. "Ask her if there's anything here of hers that she might need you to rescue for her for the time being."

"Right oh." Ben returned his attention to his phone. "Did you hear that? Good. Just let me know before I go back home, and I'll speak to you later. Okay, I'll say hello to Rose for you."

"Why would I want you to do that?!" Jenny near shrieked down the phone. "Just make sure she heard what you said. Bye, Ratface!"

"Bye!" _Sourpuss,_ he tacked silently on to the end. He then turned his huge grin on to his father. "She sends her usual love."

The Doctor stopped himself from rolling his eyes in exasperation. As if Jenny would say such a thing! And there was something extremely suspicious going on between his children. He would have to tread carefully for the next couple of hours.

~o~

Ben stayed for another hour or so, sharing a meal the Doctor prepared; and then it was home time, for both Ben and Rose. The Doctor had had enough of their strained company as the pair of them refused to exchange anything beyond the merest pleasantries. However, driving Rose home to her mother's later proved to be the perfect end to an emotional day for them both.

~o~


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** sorry for the late posting but I've felt like crap all day. I've missed my Christmas Eve slot here, but hopefully it counts where you live. **Merry Christmas!**

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><p><strong>Part Eleven<strong>

.

"Doctor, is it true you are going to lose the flat to Donna once the divorce goes through?" Rose asked as they travelled towards her home.

"Yes, it's true," he confirmed, keeping his eyes on the road ahead. "She gets everything."

"And all your money?" Rose continued to query.

He nodded. "Up until that point; yes."

Rose was absolutely horrified. "But we'd be paupers. That means we'd have to live with Mum, and I ain't staying there when we're married."

This was his chance to act on his promise to Ben, as they pulled up outside her block of flats. "Then we ought to reconsider the engagement, don't you think?" he proposed. "We've rushed into it when other things should be taken into consideration."

"Is that why your Ben was shouting at you?" Rose persisted. "I heard most of what he said to you."

He very much doubted that otherwise she would have been throwing a much bigger tantrum. As calmly as he could, he said, "He has a point. I think we need at least a break from each other."

"You're breaking up with me?! This has to be some sort of a joke." She turned huge tear-filled eyes on to him as streaks of black mascara started to stream down her face. "How could you? What have I done wrong? I love you!"

"I know you do, but we have to get this right and if we carry on as we are I could hurt you even more than this," he tried to reason. "We should call off the engagement and see where exactly that leaves us. Let things settle for a moment; get the lie of the land, as it were."

"I can't believe you are doing this because Ben yelled at you," she complained. "First it's HER pushing her way in-between us, and now it's your spoilt brat of a son going all psycho."

"No, Rose," he sighed in a strained voice. "My son has never acted spoilt, he certainly isn't a brat, far from it, and Donna hasn't been pushing her way in. It is down to me feeling that we have raced headlong into an engagement situation when we should have been more wary."

"You asked me," Rose petulantly stated.

"And I shouldn't have done. It was unforgiveable, and done on a sheer whim to please you when you burst into tears that time; as you well know." The Doctor took a deep breath. "My mind is made up; we can continue to see each other for now but the engagement is off. It will remain so until I can work out things out more clearly in my head."

"All of this is her fault, isn't it?" Rose pushed, her anger growing. "She can't bear to see me… I mean us… happy when all she cares about is getting her grubby hands on your money."

"Rose!" he growled in warning. "Of course she wouldn't want to see us happy after everything I'm putting her through. Good God, woman! Have some compassion. And it was MY idea that she got the money. She has earned it."

"Your idea? Are you bloody mad, giving everything away like that?! And how has she earned the right to your money? Doing what exactly?" Rose snarkily wondered. "Because all I've seen her do is swan about trying to look important."

"Listen to me!" he threatened, leaning towards her as she sat stunned in the front passenger seat at his tone. "Donna has shared my life for over twenty years. We grew up together and she raised my children. On top of all that, she has had to put up with my constant absences due to work and saved my life on more than one occasion. So do not question her merit."

"Yeah, we can't have anyone questioning her and her need to take every penny you've got, can we? I tell you what, how about we forget it completely because if you really loved me you'd want to give me the lifestyle I deserve. But I'll tell you one thing I don't deserve, and that is you! We're finished." Glaring at him as best she could, Rose then silently climbed out of his car and slammed the door shut with as much force as she could muster. Without a backward glance, well… not until she reached the confines of the nearest balcony to peek back at him to see how upset he was, she stormed away. When she did look back she was not expecting to see that his car had gone and he had driven away.

"Bastard!" she wailed; and vented her anger by taking it out on her mother.

~o~

That night Donna received yet another phone call from her estranged husband. "Yes John?" she answered the call as patiently as her irritation would allow.

"Donna, I know I've upset you, and you have every reason to want me to stop doing this, but…" His voice then went even more pathetic. "I've gone and done it. I've called the engagement off since we have to clear the air between us more than we have done."

"Go on," she encouraged, keen to hear what his latest tale was. "What did you do to cause her to dump you?"

"It wasn't her that said it. It was me. Well, at first it was," he confessed. "You were right, as usual. But then you always are where I'm concerned."

It really helps to be wide awake to enjoy a victory dance. "John, I am really tired and I have to get up very early tomorrow, so please get to the point."

"Okay." He nervously gulped. "Can we get together, to talk alone this time, please? Just a drink in a pub or somewhere; nothing too fancy. You and me, away from everyone else. Please, Donna, I'll do anything just to get the chance to talk alone with you."

"Alright, but no funny business," she warned, "otherwise I'll be walking out of your life faster than…" She had to think then what could possibly be quick enough; and then a snide remark occurred to her. "…You can propose to someone else."

"Donna," he groaned out in pain. "I know you don't believe me, and who can blame you. All I've done to destroy your trust in me. But I want to try and make things better."

"We'll see," she slowly retorted. "I'll email you when and where to meet. Night, John."

With a great deal of relief, he murmured in return, "Good night, love." But she had already put the phone down on him.

~o~

Walking into the ancient low ceiled of The Olde Oak pub immediately felt like a bad idea to Donna. Why had she agreed to do this? She must be mad; but the children had reasoned that she needed to make their father know her position; restate her case. What maddened her even more was the small excited fluttering within her stomach when she eyed him standing patiently by the bar as he waited for her to arrive.

"Donna!" Upon seeing her, his eyes lift up with delight, and he stepped closer to greet her properly with a kiss. At the last second she turned her head so that his lips hit her cheek rather than her mouth, and he bit manfully down onto his disappointment. "Thank you for doing this. Shall we sit somewhere comfortable?" He held a hand out in invitation towards a vacant table near the large traditional bay window and next to the fireplace. Fortunately it had not been lit as the day was extremely warm and pleasant. "What can I get you?" he offered as she sat herself down onto the padded bench.

"Erm. A diet Coke, please," she replied, making herself more comfortable by wriggling about and adjusting the fall of the summer dress she wore against her thighs.

His eyes did not follow the course of her hands. Nuh uh. And in no way did he notice the enticing swell of her chest or the way the light streaming in through the panes of glass made the colours in her hair dance divinely. He'd swear on his life he hadn't done any of that. Except he had, and wanted to respond to the thud in his heart; among other places.

Having been served, and paid for their drinks, he approached the table whilst holding both glasses, and toyed with either sitting opposite her or right next to her on the window bench. In a moment of bravery, he chose the latter and whimsically smiled when she looked startled at him suddenly seating himself beside her. "Cheers!" he greeted, lifting up his half pint of beer to toast her before sipping a mouthful or two. "Not bad," he reluctantly admitted in judgement before turning his attention fully onto Donna. "Do you come here often?"

"No," she answered with a laugh. "I came here once or twice with a few volunteer people from the shelter a couple of Christmases ago. It just seemed nice and safe."

He nodded his agreement as he reviewed the cosy pub interior. Then as surreptitiously as he could get away with, he lifted his arm and rested it along the back of their bench seat, like some adolescent boy on his first date in a cinema. "Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it."

She peered at him with some amusement. "You do realise that you're making this look like we're having a clandestine liaison meeting or liaison, don't you? Everyone must think we are secret lovers or something."

This was an ideal opportunity for him to lean in closer and whisper into her ear, "It can be arranged, if you fancy. We're not too late."

"Give over!" she chided, swatting at his shoulder. "None of your cheek, thank you very much."

Using a mock pout, he grouched, "You spoil all my fun."

"John, you can't keep doing this," she grumbled in turn. "As nice as it is, we aren't like that anymore. And before you try to argue otherwise, your behaviour cannot be kissed away."

"Are you sure?" he queried.

"Oh just stop it, please!" she tearfully begged; now annoyed that she had allowed him to get to her. "I can't be always there at your beck and call. While I think to say it, you need to choose someone else to take over your finances because I refuse to be bullied into being your accountant or your lackey. Do you hear me?"

"I do," he crooned, drawing her instantly into his arms and letting her rest her head on his shoulder; just like she used to do. "I'm sorry; I was being selfish when I suggested that." He reached up and wiped away a stray tear from her eyes. "If I spend my whole life saying sorry to you it will never be enough for what you've been through."

"That's easy for you to say."

"I mean it, Donna," he quietly insisted.

"And I'd better tell you what I mean," she firmly retorted. "I am not your mother, I will not take responsibility for your life anymore, and we should cut all previous ties. You've asked for a divorce, and that means a whole new set of rules where I do not have to worry about your wellbeing but only my own."

"Yes, Donna," he readily agreed, nodding slightly against her head as he did so. "Am I still allowed to cuddle you on the odd occasion like this?"

"Only if I approve it," she answered with an amused sniff.

"And if I want us to try again, what would be the rules for that?" he queried in soft tones.

She pondered that. "Then we go extremely slowly. You have a lot to prove to me, and loads of damage to overcome."

"Thank you for letting me try," he breathily acknowledged her magnanimous attitude, adding in a kiss to her temple. "I never did deserve you."

When he inevitably lifted her chin to place a tender kiss against her lips, just like he always had, she allowed him that too without responding very much. It was an awfully nice kiss though, she had to admit. He may be trying harder to make it up to her but he wasn't forgiven quite yet. Only time would tell.

~o~


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **hopefully apart from a few finishing touches this fic is almost done. I'm posting this today for DarkSun Sama.

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><p><strong>Part Twelve<strong>

.

The invitation from Donna Noble had arrived from rather out of the blue, and on the very same day as Rose had last met her at Wicket House. The last thing she wanted to do was accept the invite, but Jackie had waved it under her daughter's nose as a distraction tactic when she had stormed in after her break up with the Doctor. It had almost worked too. Rose had certainly been shocked to be asked to help out with a charity event at some manor house out in the country.

"What do you think?" Jackie had wondered, waving the invite about in her hand. "Should we take this Donna up on her offer and go?"

"Certainly not!" Rose spat back. "I don't want to meet her or any relative of his."

"Go on, Rose," Jackie had encouraged her. "You never know what people you might get to meet there. Charity events attract all sorts."

"You mean you want to go and rub shoulders with some celebrities and rich people," Rose had accused her.

"And what if I do?" Jackie had retorted. "There's no harm in it. After the way you threw a strop earlier and shouted at me, I think I'm entitled to a bit of hobnobbing. And if you turn up and do a good job, you might convince that bloke of yours to get engaged again to you. Those people can be very persuasive like that. Just think what you could have achieved if you'd been nice to that Roderick bloke for five minutes instead of going all arsey on him."

"Mum! He was mean to me," Rose protested. "Why should I chase after the likes of him?"

Jackie sighed in exasperation. "Because he's powerful, and he's the Doctor's cousin. Family mean something. Remember?"

"Oh, alright then," Rose had reluctantly agreed. "I'll go to this posh charity thing and you can toady up to any celebrity you fancy, but don't expect me to enjoy it."

"Thank you!" Jackie huffed in relief and replied to the invite as quickly as she could before Rose changed her mind again.

~o~

Jackie looked around the large imposing entrance hall with trepidation. "Look, Rose," she stage whispered to her daughter. "Who'd have thought I'd be standing somewhere like this? My, it's fancy! Isn't this exciting?!"

"I bet it takes them hours to dust all this," Rose commented as she too took in their surroundings, determined not to be overawed by it all.

Above them the ceiling mural seemed to judge them harshly as the interlopers they felt like.

Unseen by them, Donna considered how she would play this meeting. It had seemed like a good idea at the time to invite these Tyler women to help Piers out, and her children had promised to give their full support, but now they were here she was not so sure. In fact she had expected them to completely refuse to partake, so this would be interesting on more than one level. But at least she knew how to be nice to people when necessary, and Jackie Tyler was innocent in all of this. Hopefully a friendly front would be the only thing she'd have to fake where Rose was concerned.

"Ah, I'm glad you found us okay," the voice of Donna greeted them as she descended the huge carved staircase. "Hello Rose," she began as she reached the bottom step and shook the hand of the older woman. "And this must be your mother. Hello Jackie. Welcome to Pomfrey Hall. I'm terribly sorry but Piers cannot be here to meet you yet; there was a sudden meeting with his estate manager to attend to, but I'm sure he will be with us shortly."

"I'm very pleased to meet you, your Ladyship," Jackie humbly replied, almost curtsying in her eagerness to be there. "I hope you aren't expecting too much from us. I mean, I can help out by lumping stuff about but Rose here can't just yet."

Donna did her best to smile reassuringly back. "There is no need for you to worry as any hard graft will be carried out by Lord Pomfrey's men. No, we will be dealing with assembling table decorations and supervising their installation. How long have you got, Rose until the leg cast comes off permanently?"

"Next week," Rose replied with some relief. Their light duties sounded ideal for her initiation into this new lifestyle she'd like to be rubbing shoulders with in the future. "But at least they've given me a lighter one now."

"Good! If you would follow me, I'll take you through to the assembly room and let you meet the other volunteers." Donna waved a hand towards a nearby door. "We're a friendly bunch, and one of them is on permanent tea making duties."

"Oh thank gawd for that, as I'm gasping for a cup," Jackie confessed, causing Donna to like her even more.

Entering a large room filled with long narrow tables, Donna pointed out a few people and then escorted her charges to a far corner by a tall window. Sitting there were two young people similar in age to Rose. "Jackie, I'd like you to meet my daughter Jenny and my son Ben."

"Hello," Jackie nervously greeted them. She certainly hadn't expected to be meeting them in such grand circumstances. The Doctor hadn't even shown her a photograph of his children. "Blimey, you look just like your dad!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself.

Ben merely laughed. "I get that a lot," he pleasantly informed her. "You might be pleased to know that Mum has put me on tea duty. Would you like a cup yet?"

"Ooh, yes please, darling," Jackie sighed with relief as she sat herself down in front of a pile of decorative papers. "Milk, one sugar, for me."

"I'll be back right away," he acknowledged. "Does anyone else want one?"

There was a chorus of thanks, so he ambled off to fulfil his duties. Whilst he was away, Jenny explained what their task was; which basically involved folding up fancy pieces of paper into lily shaped napkins, and arranging simple table decorations from a mixture of silk and artificial flowers.

"Seems simple enough," Jackie commented when she'd heard what was expected of her. Her past experiences in doing something similar would not cause her to show herself up; much to her relief. All of it was on a grander scale, but it was basically the same.

When Ben returned with four cups on a tray, he was not prepared for Rose to pat the seat next to her in invitation. What the hell was she playing at? So he chose the vacant chair next to Jackie, and let her mother him when his own mother got called away by the event organiser.

~o~

A tall, silver-haired aristocrat with familiar features walked into the room and peered at Rose and Jackie with interest. Next to him, Donna burst into her introductions. "Sir Piers, let me introduce to you Rose Tyler, and her mother Jackie. Jackie and Rose, this is Lord Pomfrey."

"How do you do," he suavely greeted them, reaching out to take Jackie's hand and causing her to swoon under his scrutiny. "And how, may I ask, do you know Donna and her family?"

"This is Dad's Rose," Jenny informed him pointedly.

"Oh." Piers' face fell a little in realisation. He had expected them to say this was their cleaner or something. "Apparently you will be joining our family in the near future if Donna lets John escape her clutches." He then turned his playful gaze onto his cousin-in-law. "And we can't have that, unless a more fitting position can be found for you."

A blush appeared on Donna's cheeks despite remembering Roderick's words of warning. "If you think you can flatter me by finding me work in your office, Piers, you are very much mistaken."

He let out a small peal of laughter. "You underestimate me, my dear. The position I am considering would be far more intimate than that."

Jackie wordlessly mouthed to Rose, "Is he saying what I think he's saying?"

Yeah, as if she'd believe that! Donna deflected his charm offensive, by saying, "Nobody said Peters, your personal assistant, was leaving, so I shall take that with the pinch of salt it deserves."

"Au contraire, Donna," Piers countered, raising a mischievous eyebrow. "But we shall discuss this in greater depth at a later date. Until then, I will leave you to continue your little task. Ladies; gentleman." He nodded to them all and then swept gracefully out of the room.

"Mum!" Jenny gasped in disbelief. "Did he just proposition you in front of us?"

Donna considered this as she gazed towards the room he had strode off towards. "He might have done, but I fear it was all for show."

"Sure," Ben snorted. "And I'm a Dutchman."

"He's right, you know," Jackie added; glad to be in on this piece of gossip. "That Piers bloke definitely acted as though he fancies you."

"I seem to be getting a lot of that lately," Donna remarked offhand. "Time will tell. Until then, we have five hundred of these to get through before lunchtime, so we'd better get on with it."

~o~

It was close to lunchtime, they had almost finished their task, and Donna had gone off to double check with Peters what needed doing next, if anything.

"If you don't mind me asking but, why does Lord Pomfrey look really familiar?" Jackie conversationally asked her table companions. "I'm sure I've seen him before."

"Well, you might have done," Ben answered with amusement, and pointed at his face. "Can you spot the resemblance?"

"Is he your real dad?" Jackie pondered before logic could stop her.

Jenny instantly burst into delighted laughter. "Don't let Dad hear you say that. Sir Piers is his cousin."

"No!" Jackie exclaimed in surprise. "Is he really? I never knew that. Did you know, Rose?"

"No I didn't," Rose replied, feeling rather miffed that she hadn't had a clue about the Doctor's family being so well connected. It certainly explained how he had managed to marry Lady Gallifreyan when he was younger.

"Still, it must be nice, having a title like that in your family," Jackie considered, ignoring the angry pout on her daughter's face for now. "If your mum gets together with him, you might get it too."

Ben leaned in to confess, "Oh I don't need Sir Piers to make sure I get a title. I'll have Dad's to inherit one day."

"What do you mean?" Jackie innocently queried.

Looking towards wherever her mother had gone, just in case this wasn't quite permissible, Jenny supplied, "Dad is Lord Gallifreyan."

Rose paled as the truth hit her: he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her it was HIS title. And not only that, but she had thrown away her chance to become a real lady.

Jackie was oblivious to all this, and continued to ask questions. "That's nice. Did he get the title when he married your mum?"

"No." Jenny shook her head. "It was the other way around. Mum became Lady Gallifreyan when she married him. Dad was already a lord because his dad died ages ago."

"Oh!" Jackie understood it all now, and saw these bright young people in front of her with renewed eyes. "So I'm sitting here with a load of aristocrats."

"Well, that's true," Ben acknowledged, "but don't hold it against us. We're quite normal, honest."

"I won't," Jackie readily promised, but she still felt rather overawed.

~o~

Just before Donna returned to the table, there was a murmuring of voices from the other end of the hall, followed by pleased gasps as a tall dark man clad totally in black entered and greeted a few people by the main doors. Jenny looked up to see who it was and jumped up out of her seat in joy; waving desperately at him.

"It's Uncle Peter!" she declared, and ran to greet him.

His long strides had brought him quite close by the time they met; and he picked her up, easily twirling her around in delight. "How's my little princess?" he asked before pressing a fond kiss onto the top of her head. "Where's Ben?" He turned his gaze around the room, looking for him, and then waved him over.

Ben in turn rushed to be hugged by him too. "I didn't know you'd be here," he half accused him.

"Well, your mum said she wanted a strong man to come and help," Peter explained, pointing to the woman by his side.

The answering retort was irresistible. "And did you find one?" Donna joked.

Peter good-naturedly laughed.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** some of you might be very pleased by these events. Sorry about the delay in updating.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Thirteen<strong>

.

"Do you see what I have to put up with?" Peter beseeched Donna's children. "I come here to do her a favour and all she can do is mock me."

"Give over! You love it really," Donna chided. "Before you go and swing from one of Piers' ladders, I've got someone for you to meet."

"Have you," he wondered with interest, and cast his gaze about to guess who it could be.

Donna gently took hold of Jackie's elbow and encouraged her to stand. "This is Jackie and her daughter Rose. Ladies, this is Peter Vincent."

"You're him off the telly," Jackie noted as she felt her legs threaten to give way. "We saw you do the Royal Variety Performance, didn't we, Rose?" Rose numbly nodded. "Blimey, you ain't half good looking," Jackie felt compelled to add when he shook her hand.

He smiled smugly at her words. "I do my best."

"Don't encourage him, Jackie," Donna mocked him. "Or he'll have you following him around for the rest of the day."

"I wouldn't mind that so much," Jackie confessed, still holding on to him.

Oh dear! This had all the usual markings of fangirls lusting after him; including the extremely satisfied grin on his face. So Donna eased away Jackie's hand from the grip she had on Peter and shooed him away. "Go and see Piers' boy Peters to find out where to start, cos we've almost finished here so I'd like to get the tables actually done and finished."

"Only if you come and assist me later," Peter tried to bargain, but it didn't work.

Donna gave his behind a pretend slap. "On your way before I tan your hide properly."

But all he did was give her a saucy wink before sauntering off.

"Family friend," Ben nonchalantly supplied when he saw Jackie's puzzled expression. "Mum and Dad have known him since their teens."

There was still a fond smile on Donna's face when she turned her attention away from watching Peter walk away and onto her guests. "He's a scallywag that one, you have to watch him, but he's adorable too."

"You can say that again," Jackie said under her breath. "He's gorgeous."

"So he's the one that keeps turning up on your doorstep," Rose commented with a slightly nasty twist to her words.

Instantly Donna was on the defensive, not wanting this girl to get one over on her. "Good friends often visit."

"By the looks of things you've collected quite a few good friends lately," Rose goaded her.

"Rose, don't start," Jackie stage whispered, and then smiled pleasantly at Donna. "I think I'd better take this one home as she's getting tired and fractious."

"Mum!" Rose protested. "I can look after myself."

The expression on both Donna and Jackie's faces denied this idea.

Suddenly there was a loud BOOM as something outside that was obviously large and heavy fell over.

"What was that?!" somebody nearer to the doors yelled out.

"I'll go and see," Donna determined and headed for where the noise had come from.

As she walked through the doors, the Doctor suddenly rushed in to the hallway. "Donna! DONNA!" the Doctor called out desperately before he spotted her mere feet away. He immediately grabbed hold of her to reassure himself, gripping her arms tightly. "Are you alright? I heard a thump, then someone yell, and I rushed straight here to double check."

"I'm fine," she reassured him, pleased to see how concerned he was. "I came out here to see if I could help whoever might be injured."

"I'm afraid that might be me," a shocked voice confessed. "Five seconds on the ladder and it attacked me."

"Peter!" Donna cried in surprise as he stumbled towards her with a pad of tissues pressed to the side of his head. "What happened to you?"

He tried to modestly shrug and then winced as pain shot through him. "I had an argument with a fu-... a… erm… piece of plaster coving," he admitted, quashing the swear words on his tongue.

"Let me look," she ordered in concern, and watched in horror as he lifted the thick pad away to reveal loads of blood. "That's it, I'm taking you up to the local A&E," she told him.

"You bloody well will not," he protested as he held onto his head. "I can't sit about with ordinary people. You know that! Get my phone out of my pocket for me and I'll contact my usual doctor's private practise."

No sooner had Donna thrust her hand into Peter's pocket, after much wriggling it about to overcome the tightness of his clothing, then the Doctor snarled at her, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm swimming the English Channel. What does it look like I'm doing?" she grumbled. "I'm getting out his phone."

"That's not all you're doing to him. And accidentally touching him up in the process," the Doctor complained. "Here, let me do it." He reached out to take over.

"I've never had a bloke fight over me before." Peter playfully batted his eyelashes. "Oh John, I didn't know you cared. All these years and you've kept it so well hidden."

"You git," the Doctor softly chuckled. "I bet that's merely a scratch on your head. You're far too cheerful for it be anything serious."

"Unlike you, in the next few minutes," Peter warned as he glanced towards the latest newcomer in the hall.

The Doctor turned and immediately greeted his cousin. "Hello Roderick. You here for this charity thing too?"

Roderick looked rather startled to see both the Doctor and Peter standing with Donna. "Yes, I've been here for some hours, organising some light entertainment."

"Some warbling tart singing, no doubt," Peter mumbled, and Donna elbowed him silent in the side.

"That should be good," she remarked, and smiled encouragingly.

_Who do you think is winning? _Ben silently asked Jenny as they stood watching the family reunion show.

_I don't know, _she carefully answered. _Uncle Peter might have the advantage._

Fun though to watch, eh?

Very,

she agreed as all three men drew themselves up in to their best defensive stances. "Should be even more fun now."

To their increasing glee, Sir Piers glided in and stopped to assess the situation. "Hello John!" He greeted the Doctor with a firm handshake. "Long time no see. Come to support Donna's efforts? She's been a wonderful addition to our team. Rustled up all sorts of volunteers; even your young erm… lady." There was a smirk that was half mocking and half commiserating.

"That's all ended," the Doctor informed him. "I saw sense and returned to try again with Donna." He placed a possessive an arm around her waist in emphasis. An arm that she tried to surreptitiously shrug off. "It's like being on honeymoon again."

_You lying sod!_ "A slight exaggeration, John," she commented, "but we're slowly making progress."

"Sounds more like therapy sessions," Peter murmured next to her; pleased when it gained a smile.

"Yes. Well." Piers regarded them awkwardly for a second. "I hope you appreciate what kind of woman you almost lost."

"Oh, I do," the Doctor stressed. "I won't make that mistake again."

_Sounds like Dad won this round,_ Jenny stated, and shared a pleased triumphant grin with her brother.

_But will he win the next one?_ Ben queried as Rose approached his father.

Seeing her chance to publicly seek revenge on him with a bucket load of shame, Rose had slowly made her way out in order to bore down on the Doctor like a Portuguese man-of-war warship. "It's always her! She is all you ever think of. You lying, two-timing piece of-"

Nanoseconds later she struck out, hitting him hard across the face. Well, she would have done if the strike had actually landed; but he had anticipated her violent reaction, and deftly caught hold of her wrist. Yes, she was a chip off the old block, apparently, he thought. "Don't even think it, Rose," he hissed in warning and then almost threw her away from him in disgust. He wouldn't forget the slap Jackie had given him in a hurry. It had happened when Jackie found out her daughter was serious about someone twice her age. It was also the reason Rose had burst into tears and he'd ended up proposing.

"Get your wandering clammy mitts off my husband!" Donna quietly seethed as she took in the situation taking place in front of her family. "Of all the things I have had to put up with, THAT is the one thing you won't do."

"He chose me," Rose retaliated.

"And you didn't flirt with him in the slightest or knew that he was married with children when you set your sights on him," Donna retorted. "Pull the other one, love; it's got bells on." She went to walk away but changed her mind and advanced on Rose again. "Do you want to know the best part of all this? Up until the other day you were going to be my children's stepmother, so I had to keep my temper and maintain the open channels of communication. But since then the Doctor has dumped you, and I don't have to care a flying fig about you anymore. Isn't that wizard? So you can prance about in your tight clothing, layers of cheap mascara and bottle blonde hair as much as you like, and I don't have to even give you the time of day. But if you ever come near me again and try to do the whole Barbie Princess routine on me, I shall take great pleasure in giving you more than a piece of my mind. So get out of my sight, you gold digging little tart, before I knock you into next week!" Sneering at her one more time, Donna strode away, feeling very relieved. "Bye, Jackie! It was lovely to meet you."

"What got up her nose?" Jackie wondered as she reached her daughter's side and watched Donna storm out. "I thought we was getting on alright."

Rose glared at her. "Mum, just don't," she warned, and snatched up her coat. "Come on, we're leaving."

"But that nice Piers bloke said he wanted to show me around," Jackie almost wailed in disappointment.

After giving the Doctor a supportive touch on the arm, Sir Piers stepped forward and grasped Jackie's elbow. "Let me escort you out to your transport, Jackie," he generously offered.

"Thank you," Jackie gushed with pleasure in return as they walked out of the door. "The car isn't too far away."

Peter turned his curious gaze from his departing host and suggested to the Doctor, Roderick, Jenny and Ben, "Shall we go and get ourselves a drink? I think we've just earned one."

"Good idea," the Doctor agreed as the others nodded. "I'll go and get Donna back from wherever she is stewing at the moment."

As he turned to go, Peter caught hold of his arm. "Piers is right, you know. Donna is wonderful and, stupid arse that you are; you almost lost her for good this time. If you ever try this on her again, I'll do more than slap some sense into you. I'm sure Roderick here agrees." He thumbed towards the man in question.

Roderick did his best to look villainous. "I know people…," he implied a threat.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Peter encouraged, giving the Doctor a shove. "Go and find her. Of course if you don't really want your wife back I'm sure I can find a volunteer or two to take her off your hands."

"Don't worry, I'm going," the Doctor retorted, taking in the determined expressions of these two men in his life. "And… thanks. Thank you for looking after her."

As he was met with bittersweet grins, Piers reappeared and clapped his hands with gusto.

"Come! Let's go and have a family reunion celebration," he declared, beckoning them all to him.

_He's taken out the rubbish,_ Jenny remarked to Ben.

_Bye bye, Rose, _Ben replied with mock sadness. _May we never have to see you again._

Anyone would think you didn't like her,

Jenny teased.

_And that person would be right,_ he confirmed. _Anyone who messes with my mum messes with me._

They mess with all of us,

she added; and they shared a satisfied smirk.

~o~


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** all I had to do was alter a couple of sentences, but it's taken me forever (hence the delay with the last chapter). Sorry about that.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Fourteen<strong>

.

The Doctor caught up with Donna as she concentrated on adjusting a table decoration; in a room alone, apart from one large woman who carried out her task with her back to the room. Stewing wasn't her style, he knew that. Instead, Donna tended to blow, like a venting mini volcano, and then instantly return to normal. She looked outwardly calm but he could easily feel the angsty mood she was in flow out in his direction. All his attention was on Donna and not the soul helper who hadn't gone to lunch yet.

"Donna, love," he softly said to attract her attention. "It's okay. They don't think of you as some fishwife."

"Don't they?" she demanded as she swung round to look at him. "They must have been waiting for years to hear me trip myself up like that. All it took was one piece of fluff. To think I have tried so hard not to get angry in front of your family; and now I've gone and ruined it all, thanks to that jealous little tart you chose to run off with."

Wincing as guilt hit him yet again; he reached out and took possession of her hands to draw her closer. "I'm so sorry. I will never be able to say sorry enough about her and the way I behaved like a complete idiot. For what it's worth, I had no idea she would be here or do that. As for my family, no, you haven't ruined anything. You've fixed things, just like you always do," he insisted. "I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but they adore you."

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Come off it!"

"It's true," he swore, suddenly stepping back as her hand was raised in the air to sweep her fringe out of the way. Well, you never know when a potential ex-wife wants to give you a decent slap during your efforts to win her back.

There was a yelp from behind him as he felt his foot hit something solid; something that was a someone, and a waft of perfume filled the air once the someone moved.

"I'm terribly sorry, madam, for stepping on your foot," he instantly apologised without looking properly, and then was taken aback when he gazed into the woman's eyes. "Roman?" he queried, ending on a squeal.

"Romana," she corrected, and frowned at him as she resisted rubbing her pained foot. "Since when have you been so heavy, dancing about on people's feet like that?"

"I er…," the Doctor faltered as several things from their past dropped into place. "Sorry. I almost didn't recognise you then. You've changed; quite a lot. How… how are you?"

Romana smiled; glad there was no rejecting anger from him. "Keeping busy, helping Donna here with some of her charity work."

"You've been helping Donna?" the Doctor wondered, waving a finger vaguely towards her. "So you er… you heard then?"

"I did. All of it," Romana sternly confirmed, staring at him. "And I'll warn you now; if you dare try out anything nasty on her I shall give The Sun an exclusive about our band days."

The Doctor anxiously fingered his collar as though it were suddenly too tight. "But we didn't do anything!"

"That's not what I shall tell them," Romana threatened. "All those shared hotel rooms we had together. That night in Preston."

"I was in bed with Donna, not you!" the Doctor squeaked in horror.

Giving Donna a sneaky wink, Romana retorted, "That's what you say. I shall say otherwise to The Sun. So keep that in mind, John, if you know what's good for you." She then gave Donna a quick kiss on the cheek and a reassuring hug. "I'll be in the conservatory if you need me."

"Thanks Romana," Donna responded; grinning despite herself as the Doctor still floundered. "So John… Why did you follow me out here?"

He cautiously watched Romana walk away. "To erm, to say something."

"Which was…?" she encouraged, and added in a circular hand motion to suggest he got on with it.

"Come back with me, to me," he hesitantly stammered out. "Roman. I mean Romana... It was all a bit of a shock for a moment. I was only expecting to see you," he stuttered. "I need to apologise for... After all this time. I don't even have her number." His face fell forlornly.

Donna moved forward, placing her hands on his upper arms in comfort. "It's okay. I have her number. You can phone any time you like."

"Oh Donna!" he gasped in relief, and cupped her cheek. "My beautiful Supertemp. What would I ever do without you? Can you see how lost I am without you. I've been such a fool to risk this."

She had barely got the words "Risk? What..?" out when he gently kissed her.

"We'll take this slow, you and me back together, just as you want," he offered. "Going out on dates, with the odd kiss here and there until you can trust me again."

There was a snort of scorn. "That might never happen, mate!" she warned.

"Then I'll die in the attempt," he quietly vowed, "because I love you, Donna Noble, and nothing can stop that happening." _I really love you._

She felt her heart melt a bit, because it was exactly what she wanted to hear from him. _Just shut up and get on with it._

The next kiss was inevitable, as was the next. Such sweet kisses given in tender love, promising many more, as he pushed her onto the edge of the table behind her, and her fingers worked their way upwards into his hair whilst one of his hands caressed a path onto her bottom.

"Ahem!" A polite cough was made before a blonde young gentleman spoke near them. "Lord and Lady Gallifreyan, Lord Sir Piers Pomfrey requests that you join him in his private dining room immediately."

The Doctor and Donna broke apart, feeling rather flushed after their tête-à-tête. "Thank you, Peters. We'll be right there, tell him."

Peters bowed respectfully, and then left them together alone.

"Slowly, whenever you are ready," the Doctor repeated, although he was obviously gagging for them to take things further.

"Then we'll start by having dinner together," Donna agreed, and smiled sweetly. Rose wasn't the only one who could get what she wanted.

He chivalrously kissed the back of her hand in glee and then led her out to face his family, knowing he could stay strong with her hand held within his.

~o~

It was the day of the wedding. Donna anxiously viewed herself in the bedroom mirror and smoothed her hands down the skirt of the dress she wore. Hmm. Would this do for a date that wasn't technically a date but really was if you squinted? She had told her children she was keeping her options open for the time being, since it felt a little bit reckless to admit she actually wanted to get back with their father.

The dress would do, she decided as she turned sideways and examined her reflection. Her bum didn't look too big, and the neckline wasn't too revealing, she was relieved to note. That had been one of her main worries when it came to actually wearing the dress rather than just trying it on in the shop. Fortunately she hadn't gone for the traditional mother-of-the-bride look, since that was Francine's prerogative. Instead she had chosen a blue coloured dress that complemented the shade of her eyes rather than fought against it, and the beaded necklace around her throat matched the ring of amber that surrounded her pupils perfectly. Locating the coordinating high heeled shoes she had also bought, she slipped them on and made for downstairs.

"Who are you trying to pull?" Ben greeted her appearance with the question.

It immediately knocked her confidence. "Is it too much? Do I need to go and change?" she fretted.

He let a slow mischievous grin spread across his face, making him resemble his father even more than usual. "You look lovely. I was only teasing. What time is the car getting here?"

"It should be here any second," she stated, turning to grab her handbag from the hall stand. "Where's Jenny? If she makes us late, I shall…"

"I'm here!" Jenny interrupted her mother's worrying, and she flounced down the stairs. "Will I do?"

"You look absolutely beautiful, darling," Donna enthused, adjusting a loose thread on the shoulder of Jenny's dress. Seeing her daughter in a flowery summer dress was a rare sight to behold, and she would make the most of it. "There's the car, so get your bum in gear."

"Such an endearing turn of phrase, mother dear," Ben mocked, tongue-in-cheek; and laughed with delight when she gave his arm a swipe.

~o~

They sat themselves down on the bride's side of the church, appropriately near the back since the place had filled quite quickly. It wasn't surprising that the Doctor wasn't there yet. When had he ever been on time for something? It was almost as if he did it deliberately. The man would be late for his own funeral.

A couple of seconds later, Donna felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Turning her head to query why they had done it, she was faced with a smug soon to be ex-estranged husband, if he played his cards right. "I got here," he whispered proudly. "Is it alright if I come and sit with you?"

Without waiting for a reply, he brought himself to the end of their pew and gestured for them to shove up.

"I'm not moving from the end," Jenny protested from where she had the aisle seat. "I want to get a good look at Martha's dress."

"Then I'll sit the other side of your mother," the Doctor grouched back, and indicated that they should let him in.

Sighing, both Jenny and Donna stood so that he could ease passed them, and Ben shuffled his bottom along on the wooden pew to give his father room to sit down. As he gained close proximity to her, the Doctor noticed what Donna was wearing and let out a low impressed whistle.

"Looking good, Mrs Noble," he almost leered at her as he deliberately pressed closer than he needed to in order to get passed her and into the gap Ben had left. "I've not seen this one before," he leaned into her personal space to whisper into her ear. "You can come again."

_Don't start,_ she warned him silently. _You're not supposed to act interested in here, remember?_

His eyes travelled slowly down her body, resting briefly on her cleavage. _Oh, I remember,_ he purred in her head. _There are things about you I remember all too well._

So she hit his arm. _Pack it in!_

_Shan't! _He whimsically smiled at her. "And how's Ben?" he aimed towards his son beside him.

Ben raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Wondering what you two are playing at, and deciding that I don't want to know, thank you very much. But if you want to pay me off with a nice sum of money to look the other way, I'm sure we can work something out between us."

"Nice try," the Doctor said proudly, "but the answer is no."

"That's okay," Ben sighed. "I'll just sit here and think of the emotional damage you will cause me. At this rate I'll have to phone Childline."

"You're too old for their help, so don't even pretend you need them," Donna countered. "There's always Age Concern."

"How wizard!" Ben playfully griped. "My own mother goes and mocks me. I shall have serious abandonment issues, I'll have you know. The Child Support Agency will be most interested, and just you wait until Father Christmas hears of this."

"Leave Jeff out of this," the Doctor joined in. "It's bad enough that you'll have Peter hanging around you all this Christmas, without adding Jeff in as well."

Donna forced back a grimace. "Yeah, I have plans for Peter. He's promised to do me a very nice version of the dance of the seven veils."

"Ew!" Ben complained, scrunching up his face. "Did you have to give me that mental image? That's it; I'm definitely scarred for life now."

"Can't take the thought of Uncle Peter prancing about in his knickers, eh Ben?" Jenny teased, enjoying his look of disgust.

"That's enough," the Doctor sternly silenced them, much to their amusement. "Just turn around and see if Martha is there yet."

~o~


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** I am so sorry **tkelparis** about the unexpected wait for this. Getting myself to do anything has been hard work.

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><p><strong>Part Fifteen<strong>

.

As expected, Martha looked stunningly beautiful as she floated down the aisle towards her new husband; and they exchanged their vows with practised ease. Even after the ceremony, and the whole of their family was assembled on the church lawn, their attention was saved only for each other. Everybody remarked how much in love and devoted they were.

It was becoming increasingly clear to Ben that he would have to stop his dad acting like a berk; a jealous sulky berk at that. All that smiling flirtatiousness that had shown itself in the church had disappeared fast, and he had retreated into his estranged behaviour.

Waiting their turn to be in the wedding photos as part of the friends group, Ben had remarked to Jenny, _Dad is back to his usual form, I see._

She had glanced to where he was animatedly chatting with Clyde, Martha's dad, and leaving their mother out of the conversation. _Sadly, yes,_ she sighed. _Doesn't he realise how close he is to winning Mum back?_

Obviously not. What a prat!

He then decisively said, _Time to release the Peter, don't you think._ And reached out to take Donna's hand.

_I'll phone him now,_ Jenny agreed; and drew out her phone to call him while Ben distracted their mother by making her laugh.

"Is this a plan to rile your dad?" Peter had warily asked. "I know how you two can get when you are plotting together."

"Well… Ben IS here," Jenny admitted, feeling eyes upon her now. "We're waiting to go to the reception now."

There was an answering chuckle. Bored, hungry and vengeful was not a good combination for his godchildren. He knew how scheming they could get. "Anything for your mum," Peter had readily told her.

~o~

The wedding breakfast had gone smoothly, with speeches that hadn't gone on and on; and now it was time for the bridal couple to make their way out of the reception and head off onto their honeymoon. There was one little matter to sort out before they left. Seeing Martha take up position, Ben bobbed his head in her direction and warned his sister, "You'd better get up there quick, Jenny."

"Why? What's going on?" Jenny asked distractedly as she stood talking with a long lost school friend who had qualified alongside Martha at the Royal Hope Hospital.

There was a flurry of women running passed them.

"Because if you don't..."

But Ben was too late with his warning. Jenny had turned her head to see where they were all going, only to see a large bouquet of white flowers come sailing through the air, heading straight for her face. Instinctively she reached out and deftly caught the bride's bouquet; much to the annoyance of most of the women around them.

"Jenny caught the flowers," Tish could be heard to inform someone behind her; probably Francine or Martha's grandmother.

As if her embarrassment wasn't enough, Jenny found herself being glared at by Annalise, the woman Clyde Jones had left Francine for.

"It's always the young pretty blondes," Annalise muttered under her breath in disgust.

Sometimes Jenny really wished she didn't have superior abilities. Her mother usually made her laugh by saying that she didn't only have royal blue blood in her veins but there was some Martian greenness too.

"You're next!" Tish loudly and gleefully declared in Jenny's face. "Who's the lucky man?"

"Who," Jenny feebly repeated, wondering how she'd get out of this one.

"If you make it that Turlough fella in your electrical engineering course, you'd definitely be guaranteed ginger babies," Ben teased, and instantly got thumped in the arm for his troubles. He merely laughed because she only would have reacted that way if he'd hit a nerve. "You should ask him out some time."

"No I shouldn't," she hissed back. _Shut up,_ she silently added.

Ben smiled whimsically back, undeterred. _Look, if you fancy him, you really should make the effort. He's probably shy._

If looks could kill he would have died on the spot. _Like hell he is! And why would I want dating advice from you?_ "Here, these are really for you," she stated, thrusting the flowers into Ben's hands. "Now you can propose to your boyfriend."

"I haven't got a boyfriend," Ben hastily told the intrigued Tish. "Not that I'm saying having a boyfriend would be wrong… or that I'm inclined to have one, or anything, but... Oh heck! You take them." He handed the bouquet over. "You're bound to need them soon, someone as beautiful as you."

_Nice save, Ratface,_ Jenny smirked at him.

"So who was Jenny referring to when she said boyfriend?" Tish asked kindly. "Someone special at college?"

"No," he stammered guiltily, "she probably means Uncle Peter. Well, when I say 'uncle', he isn't my real one."

"We've never seen our real uncle," Jenny added. "Seen lots of Dad's cousins."

"So many they almost crawl out of the woodwork," Ben jested. "But Uncle Peter has some seriously gorgeous women hanging around his place. I really don't know how he does it, or why he treats Ginger like he does. Well, I do, but she doesn't deserve it."

"You're rambling again," Jenny sing-singed in warning. "You'll have to excuse my brother, Tish. He could talk the hind legs off a donkey."

"And my darling sister here could kill it with one look," he sarcastically retorted. "Or her bare hands. That's probably why she can't get a bloke to even consider marrying her yet. Too vicious."

"Oi!"

"You know," Tish began to say, "it's really easy to see who your parents are. You sound just like them."

"Really?!" Jenny and Ben gasped out together.

Tish laughed at their shocked faces. "Really," she confirmed, "and I'm going to give these flowers to my mum. I'll tell her you sent them, Ben."

_You really must stop schmoozing the ladies,_ Jenny crowed.

_At least I have plenty of offers,_ he retorted, and wasn't surprised in the slightest when she hit him harder this time.

Fortunately she was soon in better spirits because she spotted a very welcome sight. "Uncle Peter!" she cried, and raced to greet him.

~o~

"What is he doing here?" the Doctor sneered when he saw his daughter proudly escorting their friend closer.

"He's Mum's plus one," Ben joyously supplied. "Didn't you know he was coming too? It was arranged ages ago."

"No I did not," the Doctor tersely retorted before fixing on a welcoming smile, and stepped forward and greeted his friend. "Hello Peter! I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Hello John; hello Ben. I don't know why you are surprised to see me," Peter replied with ease. "I couldn't let my girls down, could I?" He turned to grin at Jenny who still held on to his arm possessively. "Not when I've promised to dance with them."

The thought of him dancing like Donna had mentioned in the church made the Doctor green with jealousy. "How lovely of you," he gritted out.

Peter lifted his head to grin defiantly back. "I thought so. Now where is Donna?" He swept his gaze over the room, seeking her out. "Ah, there's my date; so if you'll excuse me." With a nod, he was gone and striding confidently across to where Donna sat chatting to Martha's brother Leo and Francine.

The Doctor watched avidly as she looked up and smiled at Peter before rising and greeting him with a brief kiss. The growl that broke out from his throat was completely involuntary.

"Got a problem, Dad?" Ben asked, taking in where his gaze was fixed. "You did say you were taking dating Mum slowly, remember, with no expectations." The hurt expression on his father's face made him add, "Martha invited him; it was completely innocent. For all we knew, this reconciliation could have fallen flat and Mum would have been left like a spare wheel."

"He shouldn't be here as her date," the Doctor heard himself petulantly bite out. "Sorry, but he shouldn't."

"Dad!" Jenny admonished him. "Don't you realise that what you are feeling is how Mum has been made to feel every time she saw you with Rose? Talk about do as I say and not as I do! You are such a controlling sexist pig; and I for one am pleased Uncle Peter is here."

"Jenny, you don't understand," the Doctor tried to reason.

"Oh this should be good," Ben murmured.

"You both don't," the Doctor continued.

But Jenny was not to be so easily swayed. "So it was okay for you to swan around with a girl my age but Mum can't be seen with a man her own age," she seethed. "That is typical! Why do you have to be such a hypocrite? What did you expect Mum to do? Sit about and wait for you to decide what you want, just like she has always had to do? Grow up, Dad!"

Still in a fury, she stormed away, leaving him calling after her. Ben politely sipped his drink before saying, "She has a point, you know. And she has every reason to be angry with you. We all do."

Resigned, the Doctor admitted, "I know, but I'm trying to make amends."

Finishing his drink up, Ben placed a consoling hand on his father's arm. "Just give us time to get over it. Don't worry about Jenny, I'll go and talk to her. You concentrate on Mum."

The Doctor nodded. "I'm sorry," he contritely said.

~o~

Donna laughed as she was pulled up to dance. "What are you playing at, Peter?"

"Staying right by your side, as per instructions." He grinned.

"What am I now, a faulty washing machine," she griped.

"No," he insisted, taking her hand gently. "You are my date, a very beautiful one at that, and I am treating you appropriately."

"Peter," she sighed, letting him lead their movements, "you don't have to do this. You're under no obligation, so you can chase after that little brunette you've got your eye on, if you want to."

"How did you know?" he spluttered, and laughed at her knowing smile. "Well, what am I to do if you won't have me," he queried.

She deliberately leaned in to say, "You know exactly what I think you should do; and why you are so stubborn about not chasing after her, I shall never know."

He twirled her around before pulling her close to his body. "She doesn't want me, that's why. So... the brunette," he wondered, deliberately changing the subject, "any chance of you casually introducing me?"

"As if I'd give you away like that," she teased, and enjoyed herself flirting with him some more while she could.

"That husband of yours looks as though he could pulverise me," Peter whispered into her ear.

"Let him fret," she replied. "If he tries anything with you I'll give him what for!"

"Maybe that's exactly what he wants from you," Peter reasoned. A mischievous grin played about his lips.

Well, he had a point, but she wasn't going to own up to that unless she really had to. "Then you'd better make the most of this while you can," she whispered back, and squealed with delight as he spun her again.

Peter certainly had his good points, and he was extremely attractive, she couldn't deny that, but she wouldn't seriously consider him until all hope was lost with her husband. It may be old fashioned to remain faithful, but loyalty had always been her strong point. Seeing the Doctor forlornly watching her from across the room did nothing but lift her spirits, especially when Ben sent her the silent message, _Well done, Mum. You've got Dad where you want him_.

Yes, hope was definitely back.

~o~

Later on, the Doctor could see Donna holding a new baby within her arms; a sight that was both familiar and totally endearing to him. Without hesitation he crossed over to her and gained a beautiful beaming smile. "Who's this you are cuddling?" he asked before sitting beside her.

In reply she slightly tilted up the sleeping baby within her arms so that he could see the face better. "This is Willard, Leo and Shonara's new baby son. Martha is so lucky to be an auntie again. Isn't he gorgeous?!"

"He is," the Doctor readily agreed, reaching out to touch the soft cheek of the baby, drawn to seek any contact with him. "He is beautiful. Doesn't this remind you of someone else?"

"You mean Ben, do you?" she sought to confirm. "He was as quiet as this when he was a baby. A far cry from what he is now, the cheeky monkey," she fondly continued, lightly bouncing the baby as he started to snuffle. "Looks like someone will need his mummy very soon. Won't you, darling?"

In next to no time, Shonara appeared and took her precious son out of Donna's arms and away from the two cooing adults.

"It makes you really miss having that sort of thing in your life," the Doctor remarked. "Sometimes I wish we'd had another one."

"You ain't lost your chance," Donna commented, although it hurt to say it. "Rose could have a whole brood for you in the near future."

"No," he sadly stated, shaking his head. "She isn't the motherly type, and doesn't want to have children. If I had married her my last chance would have gone, whereas if…" His voice petered out unexplainably.

"If what?" Donna encouraged him to talk. "Are you thinking of getting yet another young mistress?"

"Donna," he sighed, "you know full well that Rose was not my mistress in any shape or form, otherwise you would have known completely about it. And I don't intend to take on any other women."

"Then what was all the wishful thinking about?" she continued to press. "I suppose you could wait until you are a grandfather. It all depends how much like us Jenny and Ben will be about being young parents."

"You're not too old to have another baby," he felt compelled to point out; leaning forward to loosely wrap an arm around the back of her chair. "You know… if we… I mean you ever fancied the idea, and actually wanted to go through all of that again."

"What!" she exclaimed in disbelief.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** sorry this is a little later than I had intended; but here it is, the final part.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Sixteen<strong>

.

"Don't even think about it! You don't use babies to paper over the cracks of a relationship, for a start." Donna snorted her scorn. "As for me having another one, more or less on my own… Again?! No thank you. I'd rather stay as I am."

"I was sort of there when Jenny and Ben were babies," the Doctor tried defending himself. "It's not as though I never changed a nappy."

"You did," she conceded, giving his arm a patronising touch. "I can't say that you never washed, changed or fed them. And I was grateful when you burped them, or marched up and down at two o'clock in the morning because they were teething. I just… I just wish you hadn't been away so much on tour with the band, leaving me all on my own."

Feeling hurt, he murmured, "You never said at the time."

She merely shrugged wearily. "I didn't have much choice, did I? The whole world was expected to revolve around you lot singing on a stage to a bunch of fans. What I wanted never really came into it. Anyway, all that's in the past, and I don't fancy having a screaming baby suddenly in my life; not unless it is one I can hand back at the end of the day. As it is, I can't see Jenny rushing into such a situation, so I can breathe easy for a while longer."

Not realising he was pouting, he muttered, "I still think you would look wonderful holding your own newborn baby."

"You can think all you like; it ain't going to happen now," she protested. "Those days are gone too."

Deciding to play devil's advocate, he risked asking, "What if Peter wants his own child?"

"Then Peter can go off and knock up some poor unsuspecting woman," she retorted. "Since when was I the only provider of such life experiences?"

"You might change your mind if you married him," the Doctor considered, although it almost broke his heart to say the words.

"Or I might end up marrying Roderick," she said to rile him. "Who knows what will happen in the future. Oh, and you'll never believe who I heard from yesterday, from out of the blue. Only Aidan Hoynes! Can you believe that? He wanted to know if I'm interested in aiding some political fundraiser. I can see it now…" She swept a hand across the air as though a banner would appear. "Me becoming the new political femme fatal as glory boy Hoynes worships at my altar." She beamed at him and then instantly warned, "And no making the obvious filthy joke about that."

"As if I would," he responded, adding in a small cheeky smile.

But it soon waned. The thought of his wife being successful enough in charity circles to attract the interest of the political crew really got underneath his claw! How dare they try and attract her away. It was bad enough as it was with all the attention she was suddenly having thrust upon her. Anyone would think she was some sort of prized heifer up for sale.

And that's when the truth really hit him. Those jealous harpies had been coveting his wife for years! All of them had swooped in as soon as the news of their pending divorce had broken. But that wasn't the biggest surprise. He realised he cared tremendously about who gained her attention. In fact, he wanted to keep her love and attention all to himself. Well, apart from allowing her to share affection with their two lovely children, but hopefully that was a given. It bothered him enormously that anyone else would even attempt to take her away from him. Always had done, and always would. The mere thought of her lying in the arms of another man within a marital bed, or otherwise, flared such internal anger that he was practically blinded by it. And yet, when Rose had tried to arouse jealous anger within him by harping on about some childish ex-boyfriend of hers, he'd been hard put to even rustle up interest, let alone go the full jealousy route. Yes, he had been perfectly right to break off the engagement and fight to get Donna back instead. Until then, he had some damage he had to seriously attempt to overcome and make up for.

The music being played by the wedding DJ changed to something he actually knew and liked, so he stood and performed a mock formal bow. "May I have the honour of this dance?"

This seemed a bit off. "Why? Aren't you feeling well?" Donna queried.

He held out his hand in invitation, wiggling his fingers at her. "I can ask my wife to dance with me, surely. Especially at a wedding."

She stood and took his hand, amazed that she was letting him do this. "It depends which wife you want," she felt duty bound to mention.

Immediately he pulled her closer, crushing her body up against his. "I see only the one I want to dance with," he breathily said into her ear. "Now stop complaining and enjoy it."

As he held her close he let out a happy sigh and snuggled in closer still as they danced together, following the slow tempo that mesmerised them.

For a moment she could believe it was the man she had married holding her so close; the one that had whisked her off her feet such a long time ago. And if he was in such a frisky mood, she could have a little fun of her own. So she moved her hand up from where it rested on his shoulder and caressed the back of his neck. "I intend to enjoy this," she whispered into his ear, making sure that her cheek briefly touched his one. "New aftershave? You smell divine."

"Thanks. It's the usual one, actually," he answered, but was instantly shocked when her lips brushed against his jaw. Was it a sheer fluke?

He knew it wasn't when her free hand wandered up further to comb her fingertips through the hair on the back of his head, scraping her nails delicately along his skin; sending his desire higher. It must be the music affecting her, he told himself._Feeling a little playful tonight?_ he asked her as seductively as he could.

_Where you are concerned, always,_ she trilled, knowing he was reacting despite himself.

They shared a flirty grin and carried on moving around the dance floor. His right hand resting on the small of her back really wanted to wander further over her body. If it had its own way, it would have travelled all over her curvaceous hips and bottom, down towards pastures green. As he thought it, the rest of his body responded with added interest; enjoying the soft press of her voluptuous form against him.

The strains of the music lulled them into a trance, taking them into a world that held only them as they moved in synch to the rhythm. It seemed perfectly natural to share a brief kiss that promised so much more as the song ended.

"We need to discuss this elsewhere," he stated, and instantly led her outside the hall.

The corridor beyond was completely deserted. "What did you want to say?" she asked.

"This," he hoarsely announced and pushed her back against the wall in a secluded corner, following closely with his lips and particularly his hips, leaving her in no uncertain terms very aware of what he wanted.

Their mouths sought long forgotten lips as they pressed fervently together, trading hungry kisses and caresses to any available piece of flesh. His hand slid up her thigh on towards those pastures green as her hand found a path down into the back of his trousers and onto his pert bum. Both groaned their desire and appreciation of tender touches. It only stopped when her spare hand smoothed down over his stomach to land on the zip of his trousers, lowering it until she could delve inside.

Grabbing hold of her wandering but enticing fingers, he huskily begged, "Oh Donna! Don't do this to me here. Let's go home and find a bed."

"Trust you to stop things midway when they were getting interesting," she griped.

He softly laughed against her neck. "I thought we were taking things slowly between us."

"You can't get slower than this at the moment," she retorted. "Do yourself up, Time Lord. It's about time we collected our kids and headed for the next step."

Giving her a playful nip, he commented, "You say the sexiest things. Can you go and get Jenny and Ben? I'm not sure I ought to step out where people can see my predicament." _God, I want to make love to you!_ he growled amorously.

_I sort of noticed that when you tried to get your hand in my knickers,_ she remarked.

He gasped in shock. _Your hand was squeezing my arse! So don't play the innocent. We'd have been shagging up against the wall if you'd had your way._

Carry on like this, and you won't be making use of my bed,

she lightly warned.

_Our bed,_ he corrected, and moved to deeply kiss her again. _How do you manage to turn me even further on by arguing with me? Every bloody time._

She couldn't help replying,_It just shows you chose the right woman._

~o~

As Ben walked passed the bottom step of the stairs the ringtone of a mobile phone loudly broke through the calm. He turned his head this way and then that, eventually locating the phone within a jacket pocket on the nearby coatrack.

"Hello?" he cautiously answered, and then waited. "No, this obviously isn't the Doctor; this is Ben, his son." The young woman on the other end ranted for a little bit. "I don't know why he isn't answering his own phone! You'll have to ask him yourself… No, as far as I know none of us arranged for Lord Pomfrey to take your mum out; but I do know everyone will be delighted to hear it... Dad? He's upstairs sleeping in bed with Mum... Oh yes, they've been up there together all night, not that they got much sleep, by the sound of it. In fact, they kept me awake until I plugged in my music and shut them out. Although I could still feel their bed rocking as it hit the wall... Rose? What's that you said? You'll do what? Oooh, I wouldn't recommend that. Not if you still plan to have a family with him one day. At least you know he is still capable of doing it." He lifted the phone away from his ear and shared an amused glance with Jenny as she appeared from the kitchen to find out what all the noise was. "She hung up on me. I wonder why she did that! I can't for the life of me think why."

"Me neither," Jenny giggled as she handed him a fresh cup of tea. "She's got a cheek phoning him here, hasn't she?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "But I soon chased her off.

~o~

As they lay cradled together in each other's arms, he hesitantly admitted, "I'm not sure this has been a good idea, Donna."

"John, stop being vague for a moment and tell me what's wrong. And there's no need to pull that pained face." She dreaded hearing what he thought was a bad idea so she took a deep breath and calmed herself before joking, "Anyone would think you've found out I'm pregnant."

"What?!" He practically exploded into anger. "You went off and had sex with Peter? I bet he seduced you. I'll kill him…!"

Grabbing hold of his arm, she sought to halt his tirade. "You prat! As if he would do such a thing. No, thanks to you that ain't going to happen."

"Why? What did I do?!"

"Do I really have to remind you?" She released her hold and crossed her arms. "Honestly? Are you playing innocent, because that boat sailed yonks' ago," she huffed.

He stumbled, staring at her with large round eyes. "I'm going to be a dad again. Wow!" A weird giggle emanated from his mouth.

"Wow indeed," she murmured, obviously not having got the excitement memo.

"Or… or... have I got it totally wrong and it would be far too early to know?"

"Definitely too early, and I keep telling you: I'm too old."

"Oh!" His face fell in disappointment. "Perhaps this is a bad idea."

"Which part of 'this' were you referring to? The cuddling, the bed, the rampant sex, or you fancying the pants off me, quite literally?" she testily queried.

He gulped nervously. "The whole 'us' bit. No, listen to me…," he started to protest as she pulled clean away and he feared a bodily attack. "Donna, please! We've both been through a dry spell recently, with the sex stuff, so we're bound to be a little… no, 'desperate' isn't the word; and I certainly didn't act out of desperation, especially after seeing you in THAT dress yesterday."

"Are you saying you're blaming it on me," she tried to qualify. "Really?!"

"No, no, no, no," he denied. Well, you could argue it was a denial. And you would have gotten away with it, right up until he went and pointed at her body; especially her chest. "You are just so damned sexy. That dress displayed your gorgeous long legs, your broad hips, and your… they looked lovely yesterday. All round and plump and positively lethal for my libido."

"So it would seem," she dryly noted, eyeing the shape his hands had taken as he held them to his chest; but the biggest giveaway was the growing interest lower down. "Now that I see you're not going to pursue this any further, what are you really trying to tell me, John? Because I can hardly wait to hear it."

He went to adjust a tie that wasn't there. "I er… I wondered if we should divorce after all. Break the bond and test this sudden attraction to see if it is only because we have permission as a married couple to have sex or if it means something more."

"You mean you want to bed Rose to see if it is any different to us," she argued, "you randy sod!" Pushing him away, she yelled, "Go on; bugger off! Go back to your fantasy tart and leave me alone!"

Stricken in the middle of the bed, he watched her storm out of the bedroom. "Sweetheart, can't you see my logic? It does make sense!"

She poked her head back around the door to verbally attack him. "To your dick it does! Why did I even think you could change? I must have been stark raving mad to believe all that guff you fed me last night. The truth is you think I am too old, boring and fat. This is a new low, even for you!"

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think?!" She sarcastically continued, "I was on a promise with Peter. And if that doesn't work out, there's always Jack, Roderick; or even Shaun, if I feel like it. At this rate I'll end up with Romana. Yeah, why not become the Chiswick bike, because you certainly make me feel like one!"

His lips had silently echoed the name 'Romana', partly in fear, forcing his brain to catch up with the rest of her rant.

On a scream, he cried, "Oh no you don't!" He raced across the space dividing them and grasped hold of her wrists to stop her getting further away; with or without clothing. "You are not going to Peter, or anyone else."

"Why not?!" she demanded.

Through gritted teeth he confessed, "Because you are mine and nobody else's."

"Oh yeah! And what about you?" she spat angrily, hoping to push her point home. "Who do you really belong to?"

His face morphed from furious to sadness. "Me? I'm yours. Always have been, despite my stupid behaviour." With a sniff, he manfully tried to draw back unbidden tears. "I tried to talk myself out of loving you, thought that's the sort of thing a man my age should be achieving; you know, the whole young trophy girlfriend thing. But I don't really want any of that. I don't need to as I know I earned my success decades ago. It was flattering to my ego, I'll admit, but... What I do want is you," he slowly stated. _I love you so much. Please give me another chance, with you, to make it right. Another date, that's all I ask._

She snorted her scorn. _We've just had a night full of sex, dumbo! How is a date going to help?_

I want to romance you. Treat you as you deserve to be treated, like a queen. The queen of my heart. Okay, both of them. Every inch is yours. Except for the bits where Jenny and Ben are, obviously...

Time to shut up, and put your money where your mouth is,

she chided as she guided their lips together.

"Ew! Get a room!" Ben cried out in disgust as he reached the top of the stairs and stepped nearer. "On the landing of all places... And in the buff. This will damage me for the rest of my life." He then went into his room and dialled a number on his phone. "Hello Uncle Peter. It worked! You are bloody marvellous. Did you know that? Me and Jenny will be over tomorrow to celebrate. See you then. Oh and, by the way, you might be pleased to know that we have contacted someone you'd like to speak to. Somebody by the name of Nellie…? Yes we have. Thought you'd be chuffed!" With an extremely smug grin on his face, Ben ended the call.

Justice had been done and harmony restored.

~o~O~o~

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><p><strong>AN2:** I will be posting a DVD Extra elsewhere since it will violate the posting code of posting on here.


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